Whirlpool's Rebirth
by ShadowWolf Zero
Summary: During the training trip with Jiraya Naruto finds his diary. Originally looking for jutsus he chances upon information on his family. Two months down the road and he finds the ruins of his mother's home village. What changes will this cause in him.
1. Chapter 1: Origins

_**Whirlpool's Rebirth**_

I do not own Naruto

Author's note: Ok so in case readers were wondering why this has been updated despite being completed, I'm looking over the story again and re-editing it. I'll be doing this with the other chapters as well, so if you are knew to this story, please understand that I may have not edited the other chapters yet, but plan to do so.

Chapter 1: Origins

* * *

It's mid-evening as two travelers are walking towards the border of fire country. The older man, who looked to be in his mid 50's had white spiky hair with two shoulder length bangs hanging down the side of his face while the rest was tide back in a ponytail. His forehead sported a metal headband with two horn like protrusions at the top opposite sides from one another while it had the kanji for oil etched into the middle.

His face although not wrinkled showed his age, two red lines running down from the bottom of his eyelids to the edge of his cheeks. He wore a dark green short kimono with matching pants, over it he wore a red coat vest and under it all he wore mesh armor. Finishing his attire were the two getas on his feet clacking with every step he took.

Next to him walked a sun kissed blonde boy no older than 14. Though he wore a blue head band with a metal plate where a leave was etched into it, it barely kept his wild spiky hair out of his whiskered tanned face. His attire of choice was an orange jumpsuit with blue running across the top of his shoulders and waist line along with the blue sandals he wore. Blue eyes that normally were full of curiosity and excitement seemed to hold a dull boredom.

"Hey pervy sage where are we going, and when will we get there?" whined the blonde in a slightly deep but raspy voice.

The now known sage, though more so known as the toad sage than the title his traveling companion dubbed him with sighed and rubbed his temples. "Naruto I've told you five times already. We are heading for Hot spring country and it will take an hour more before we get there. And how many times have I told you not to call me that, it's Jiraiya or sensei at the very least."

Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders in an 'I don't care fashion'. "I can't help it that you are a pervert. Besides, the fact that we're going to a place called Hot springs tells me what you plan to do." muttered Naruto.

Jiraiya turned his nose up as if offended. "Jeez what did I do to deserve this?"

'Although the brats spot on about why I'm heading there, but I wont tell him that." thought Jiraiya while hiding a perverse grin.

The two continued the rest of the way in silence.

As Naruto and Jiraiya pass over the border separating fire country and hot spring country they were greeted by the view of a nearby town. Both grinned at the sight, though Jiraiya's grin seems more lecherous while Naruto's seems to come from relief. After entering the town they set off for the nearest hotel.

Getting in their room and setting his luggage down Jiraiya turns to Naruto and opens his mouth to speak, but before he can utter a sentence.

"Yeah yeah, go on and do your _'RESEARCH'_." said Naruto with obvious sarcasm.

As Jiraiya was leaving to peep on the unsuspecting women at the many hot springs, he could have sworn Naruto was eager to be rid of him; then again he really didn't care. Why bother with it.

As soon as his sensei's foot steps could no longer be heard Naruto began digging through the old pervs pack. Pushing aside old scrolls and spare clothing he pulled out a small but thick black notebook. Unclasping the strap that kept the book closed, he opened the book and began flipping through the pages till he came to a small picture. The picture was of a woman of at least twenty that had long red hair and lively blue eyes. Naruto smiled warmly at the picture of his mother.

* * *

Flash back Two Months Ago

It had been a few weeks into the training trip when Naruto had stumbled upon Jiraiya's diary. He originally searched through it hoping to find a few jutsu to practice, seeing as Jiraiya seemed to be taking too long to train him. But as Naruto skimmed through the book he came upon a sentence near the end of the diary that made him freeze.

He reread the sentence pertaining to how Jiraiya's favorite student Minato was planning to name his child Naruto, after a character in the perverted sage's book. At first Naruto thought it was a mere coincident. But something in the back of his mind kept nagging him about it. Deciding to abandon his jutsu search he turned his attention to finding out everything he could about Minato Namikaze and the possible connection to himself.

He would read the diary every chance he got when Jiraiya wasn't around, especially when he was out peeping, and put it back once he returned. He had thought about asking the owner of the diary but then thought against it. Even if Jiraiya knew the truth he hadn't told Naruto, why would he tell him now? As the weeks went by Naruto became convinced more and more that Minato was his father. But the final proof he found was when he came upon the name Kushina Uzumaki.

There was no doubt in his mind as he read the passage talking about Minato's wife. After Naruto had found the name of his mother he decided to turn his attention to her and find out as much as he could. Eventually he had come across a picture of her. He had relished in the fact that he had his mother's face along with the shape of her eye.

* * *

End of flash back

Naruto began skimming through the diary once again using what little time (or as little as he thought it was) he had while Jiraiya was 'researching', to do a little researching himself. He had discovered many things about his parents. But the most interesting thing he had discovered was that his mother was not born in the hidden leaf village but in the village hidden among the whirling tides. Unfortunately the diary didn't hold much about his mom's home village other than it was destroyed thus sending his mom to Konoha.

He continued reading for nearly forty minutes and then closed the book. Having just finished reading the last of anything pertaining to his parents, he put the book away. He felt a mixture of pride, uneasiness, and yearning.

Pride in knowing his lineage. Uneasiness in the many things he discovered about Konoha, like the fact that he had been lied to most of his life, and let's not forget it was his own father that sealed the nine tails fox inside him. He didn't hate those responsible, but he felt hurt by their actions.

A yearning came to him due to the fact that Jiraiya's diary was just that, his diary. It was sheer luck that it held the little information about Naruto's parents as it did.

'Heheh I feel like a child that's been teased.' thought Naruto solemnly

* * *

Three months later

Since Naruto had finished reading the diary he returned all his time to his training. With his research on his parents ending or for better words coming to a dead end he decided to return to the original goal of his two year trip from Konoha. As Naruto trained, Jiraiya would slowly move them further and further along the coast line of hot spring country, traveling from one town to the next.

Naruto having woken up in their newest hotel room prepared for his daily exercises. Once finished with his upper and lower body work out, he began jogging laps around the town.

It was during his second lap that he saw a decorated sign set up for tourist at the edge of the beach.

'Guess I might as well take a break and see what the signs about' thought Naruto, taking quick puffs of air as he jogged over to the sign.

All thoughts of breathing left his mind as he saw what the sign had written on it. At one point in his life he had fought someone that had believed in fate. Back then Naruto had thought that was nothing but bull shit. Right now though he wasn't so sure.

"I guess I should apologize to Neji next time I see him." whispered Naruto.

The sign in front of him read out in big red letters _**RUINS OF THE VILLAGE HIDDEN AMONG WHIRLING TIDES**_. And behind the sign sure enough was a large island several miles away from the beach. Naruto had stood there staring at the island for what felt likes hours. After a while he decided to do what he was best known for... something brash and unexpected.

He began running across the water pushing chakra to his feet so he wouldn't sink. For hours he traveled across the ocean. He was so focused on the island itself that he never saw the various whirlpools surrounding it.

"Almost there, good thing my chakra has lasted this long other wise I would h..." The second his foot touched the whirlpool it swept him into it within a second.

The best chakra control in the world couldn't save him from its wrath. As it sunk him further to the ocean floor, he somehow escaped the whirlpools hold just to be snatched up by the tide slamming his body repeatedly into the ocean floor and dragging him along the reef infested ground. He had tried his best to hold onto consciousness but eventually lost the fight.

Waking up coughing water and gasping for air wasn't a pleasant way to start the day or night if the dark sky was anything to go by. He ran his fingers through the sand surrounding him, his clothes bloodied and torn in varies places. Naruto looked around trying to get a hold of his surroundings. The moon was out, shining its lunar light and the sound of swirling water could be heard off in the distance. As he slowly got up he felt his body shake with every effort he made to rise. When he finally did stand straight he lurched forward puking blood.

'As much as I hate the damn fox, if it wasn't for him healing me I would be fish food right now.' thought Naruto.

Once again luck was on his side as he noticed he had made it onto the hidden village island instead of back on hot spring country. With nothing better to do he began trudging to the ruins of his mother's home village.

* * *

Back in Hot spring country

To say Jiraiya was panicking would be a big understatement. When he returned to the hotel earlier and found it empty he simply thought that Naruto was still out training. But when the clock struck eleven p.m. he knew something was wrong. Jiraiya jumped out the window and began searching for Naruto.

"I have told him to train no later then ten p.m. before so either he's ignoring my rule's, which is highly possible or something has happened." That was three hours ago and he still couldn't find him.

'I've asked every vendor I've seen, searched every vacant area he might use for training, and even checked the red light district and still haven't found him.' thought Jiraiya.

He began going over all the facts he had. "OK he didn't take his luggage with him, so he hasn't left town, the Akatsuki are a good probability, but then again I've been checking with my informants, making sure I know where they are. I followed Naruto's tracks to the beach but they disappeared due to the waves. Where the hell is he?"

Jiraiya continued his search but the only clue he got was a witness seeing a blonde kid in orange jogging towards the beach.

"What if the Akatsuki did get him? What am I going to do, what am I...going ...to tell..." Jiraiya's thought came to a stop.

Suddenly his fear for Naruto transformed into his fear for his own life. "WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO TELL TSUNADE?" screamed Jiraiya.

Those that knew Tsunade AKA the slug princess and more recently known as the fifth Hokage, knew that she and Naruto were close and that she saw him as an annoying younger brother. Though annoying she still had a soft spot for the energetic whisker faced blonde. Add to the fact that Tsunade had inhuman strength and an already ill temper was bad news. No screw bad new, Jiraiya didn't want to think of the hell he would be walking into when he returned without Naruto.

"WHERE ARE YOU NARUTO?" screamed Jiraiya.

* * *

Back in Village hidden among the whirling tides (Uzukage's office)

Naruto had spent the last few hours feeding his curiosity in the Uzukage Archives. While there he had picked up many old history books, family trees and anything else that had contained information on his ancestors' culture. Many would think the young Uzumaki had no talent and no patients for reading and studying. This was true back at the academy, but then again this was not math or geometry, this was his family history and he couldn't stop reading on as if possessed.

As he continued reading he learned several things about his mother's home and about, oh how he would love to throw this in Sasuke Uchiha's face later, his clan. Just as the Senju and Uchiha were the founders of the hidden leaf village, the Uzumaki were the founders of the village hidden among the whirling tides. And just like the Senju and Uchiha, his clan also had a blood line limit. Though the Senju could combine water and earth to make and use wood element jutsu, and the Uchiha had their Sharingan eye's that could copy one's jutsu and predict their movement (among many other special eye abilities).

But the Uzumaki's blood limit was actually the complete mastery of water elements to such a degree that they could easily combine wind or fire elements with their water element thus creating ice element and boiling element. And thanks to their mastery of water elements it took less chakra and effort to perform the various jutsu. He had even learned that the whirlpools surrounding the island were in fact a self sustaining jutsu casted by the first Uzukage. Naruto had set the book of his mother's family blood limit aside. Although he was excited about his blood limit, he had several books to read.

* * *

Three days later

Thanks to the various wild life and forest surrounding the hidden village Naruto did not need to leave the island for food. He remained most days simply learning as much as he could about his heritage. All thoughts of training, pervy sage, and Konoha had been abandoned for his curiosity. At first Naruto had been scared that Jiraiya would find him and drag him away. But then he remembered the many whirlpools surrounding the island that nearly ended his own life. The more he read the more he wanted to know. Such as why did all Uzumaki's have red hair, pale complexions, and tended to live long lives. His answer took him back to his mother's blood limit. Somehow the blood limit would affect the genes in a person body and thus show certain changes such as the pale skin and red hair.

'Oh I hope I can activate this blood limit, it would sooooo suck if having fathers genes kept me from it!' thought Naruto rather franticly.

As he continued to read, he couldn't help thinking of Sasuke. Though he could not forgive the Uchiha avenger for abandoning his home village for the sake of power in order to achieve his revenge, he felt a new understanding for his need to rebuild his clan. That's when a thought came to him.

"If that self righteous bastard thinks he can revive his clan, why can't I!" whispered Naruto.

Immediately he began thinking of how he would do such a thing. 'Like they say_ money makes the world go round_ and I'll need plenty of it to rebuild the village. Alright I'll need money and lots of it. Next I'll need people, I've done the impossible before but even I can't repopulate a whole village by myself. And I don't plan on making one of pervy sage's fantasies become a reality. Another thing I'll need is strong ninjas, even with the whirlpools surrounding this place it still became a ghost town and my family pretty much bit the dust!'

Then something occurred to him as he thought of ninjas. 'Dammit I completely forgot about Konoha, no doubt Jiraiya has been searching every stone for me, and it's not like they wouldn't send hunters for me if they discovered I willingly left Konoha behind!' he franticly thought.

He paced back and forth in front of the Uzukage desk panicking about how he was going to get around all the obstacles he would face if he went down the road to reviving his mother's clan and village.

"Wait a sec... I shouldn't be getting this scared yet. If I simply change how I dress and wear a wig, I shouldn't bring to much attention to myself. Yeah that's right they will be looking for a blonde in orange. awww but Jiraiya might use the toads to find out where I am... then again how would they know. And even if they know… I bet I can talk them into not telling him."

Naruto began to calm once these thoughts crossed his mind. He looked at his torn and bloodied jump suit realizing a change of clothes was needed in more ways than one.

"Thanks to the whirlpools simple tomb raiders have has been unable to approach the island and loot the place. Luckily blood seals have been placed over the vaults of the scrolls as well. I guess I'll check some of the clothes stores and look for a wig while I'm at it."

As Naruto continued pacing back and forth his eyes caught his reflection in a mirror. He instantly looked at his whiskers and realized they would be a dead give away of his identity.

'Guess I will be making a stop for some make up too. Heheheh, not like it isn't the first time I looked like a women.' thought Naruto almost gloomily.

He continued planning what he would do. "How I look will have to wait. I need to start training again, it's not like I can leave the island until I learn how to turn the whirlpools on and off. And repeating how I got here is a huuuggggee no"

Naruto shuddered visibly at the thought of re-challenging the whirlpools and the results of last time replayed in his mind. 'OK I think I had enough of tempting death for now. I'll focus on my mother's blood limit and if I can't use it I'll just have to focus on water techniques. And if I can't do that... I feel like Bushy Brows now.' thought Naruto ironically

'Jeez what am I going to do if I can't use my mother's blood limit or use water jutsu? As much as I wanted to come here it's become my prison. Well it's not like anything has been easy for me in life, guess I'll just have to take care of this situation like I do any other. Headstrong and flying by the seat of my pants.' Naruto thought rather nervously.


	2. Chapter 2: The Domino Effect

_**Whirlpool's Rebirth**_

I do not own Naruto, nor do I own the Uesugi clan ( they belong to Trife and he was kind enough to let me use them)

Author's Note: I'm sorry for how long it took me to get this chapter out. Originally I had tried to have it done by Sunday but I kept finding myself tweeking it here and there and such. I want to apologize to Dragon man 180. I completely scrapped the whole cross dressing Naruto idea. there was just too much i had to write as it was and truth be told I had only planned for it to happen once. I originally thought this would only be 8,000 words but turns out it actually reached over 14,000. I hope it's easier to read now. I had looked at a few other author's stories that I liked and tried to copy what they did. Now for some replies to some of the reviews.

**to Melikalily:** I would but the only real good 7 swordsmans are dead, except Kisame and as we know he's with Akatsuki. Thanks for the suggestion though.

**to Riku Uzumaki & KantonKageX**: Yeah I know what you mean, there are way too many fics where Naruto ends up screwing every girl he knows and more.

**to Serenity000**: thanks for commenting on how I kept Naruto to his correcting. I'm happy people have been giving me pointers on how to write the paragraphs but i also need people to like you to tell me if my characters act as they should.

**to GameDemonKing**: this happends before shippuden. so no garra hasn't been kidnapped yet. Naruto will not look younger but he will look different.

**to Trife: **sorry man i had told you I would have this out sooner but between all the things i had to correct about the story and Marvel vs Capcom 3 it just took a while.

**_Chapter 2: The Domino Effect_**

The room he sat in looked as an office should with a hint of royalty. Red carpet covered the floor and had dark blue walls. The wall behind him had half of it taken up by windows. If one were to look out of them you would guess they were at least on the fifth floor. The room itself was rather bare except for the chair he sat in and his desk. There were two cushioned couches to the side and a few random pictures hanging on the walls.

Naruto stares at the giant mahogany desk before him. Leaning back in his richly cushioned chair and adjusting the Uzukage robes that now adorned him. The robe was worn in two layers. The first layer was a simple ocean blue long Kimono that had been worn in a fashion that it would fit snug on his upper body but below the black belt that tied the robe together he had pulled the robe apart leaving space so that he could move without hindrance. Over the kimono he wore a long white Kage robe with steel blue stripes that ran along the bottom of his robe and along the cuffs of his wrist. Underneath it all he wore tight leather armor that covered all but his head but had slack in the joint areas . The armor had been dyed a dark blue. Completing the outfit was the giant disk shaped hat that was mostly steel blue except for the curved white triangle at the front of the hat. In the triangle the kanji for Uzukage had been written in the same color as the hat itself. Along the sides and back ran a simple white cloth that helped shadow his face.

He turned his chair to look out the window, where ruins once lay was a village now full of life and prosperous. He chuckled.

' To think two and a half years ago I was stuck on this island with nothing better to do than train.' thought Naruto, a look of nostalgia filling his blue eyes.

* * *

**2 1/2 years ago**

After finding all the scrolls and books that contained information on his mother's blood limit, he headed for a river he had passed by earlier. Luckily the river was a good distance from the village.

'The place already looks like a hurricane hit it . I don't need to add to it.' thought Naruto morbidly.

After finding a nice open area he sat down and opened the book pertaining to the bloodline itself. Flipping to the first chapter he read on how to unlock it. He frowned as he read on eventually smiling with pride.

" Where other blood-limits were gained through stress or a little practice, mom's is only usable through a lot of hard work. Says here in order for it to awaken. I must first master water, wind, and fire elemental chakra. Guess I'll start on water." whispered Naruto.

It had been two weeks since he had started the first phase to master water elemental chakra and he still had a ways to go. He had been holding the bowel trying to push the water from one side to the other. The objective was to make the bowel look as if there was an invisible barrier in the middle of the bowel preventing the water from passing through. He had been there for hours today and still could only make the water ripple.

Getting frustrated he let out a growl. " Dammit I have to stay still or i won't be able to tell if I'm actually moving the water with chakra or if it's only moving cause I'm moving."

Putting the bowel down he put his fingers index and middle fingers into a cross hand sign and created a shadow clone next to him. The clone looked at him expectantly.

" I need you to go and find some food."

The clone gave a mock salute and ran off. This had been routine since he had discovered how hard mastering water element was. Sending off a clone to find food while he continued training just seemed like a better idea than he himself wasting time doing both. Picking up the bowel once again he went back to focusing on his training.

The clone had been searching for some time now. It was looking for some fruit thanks to a sweet tooth that kept nagging the original Naruto. Jumping up to an apple tree. He began picking a variety of different colored apples. He couldn't remember which ones tasted sweet so grabbing a few of each color would have to do. Satisfied with the amount he had he turned around to jump to the next tree only to scream and fall backwards. Mere centimeters from his face was a green boa constrictor staring right at him flicking it's tongue. The second he hit the ground he poofed out of existence.

Naruto's concentration had been broken from a sudden barrage of mental images. "Great i thought i was actually getting somewhere. And my cloned fell on his ass, But how did i know that, It's not like he was nearby?" asked Naruto.

Suddenly an idea popped in his head. He put the bowel down and created another clone. Handing the bowel to the clone. The clone looked from him to the bowel repeating the process three times before staring at Naruto with a confused face.

" What the hell do you want me to do." asked the clone.

Mentally slapping himself, he expected the clone to know. " I want you to practice the training I've been doing, but don't do it here go over there and turn around so I can't see what your doing." replied Naruto pointing to a tree.

Looking at the bowel again the clone just shrugged and did as it was told. Ten minutes later Naruto dispelled the clone. Once again the images ran through his head. Gaining a new understanding of the water element he didn't have a second ago.

" So anything the shadow clones do I'll know." said Naruto. Surprise evident in his voice.

Creating ten more clones, he sent the them back to the village ordering them to find as many usable bowls they could find. As soon as they left he walked over to the tree his clone was at earlier and picked up his first bowel. Luckily it was still usable. Thirty minutes later the clones returned with a total of sixteen bowels plus the one in his hands. Naruto frowned, he had been hoping for a bit more but when he considered that they could have come back with none he didn't really mind. Creating six more clones he began to give them their orders but was interrupted by his stomach.

" Could one of you please go get the apples? " muttered Naruto.

Since his discovery over the advantage of his shadow clones, Naruto was able to shorten his training significantly. After four days of training he had mastered the first phase. He had thought about trying to have his clones practice the first phase for the other two elements but quickly thought against it.

" The last thing i need is getting three different training methods mixed up."

After two weeks of practice on the second phase (which consisted of him reversing a section of the river's flow) he had it mastered. After four more months of training on mastering the other two elemental chakra along with a a few jutsus for each element, he felt ready to try his mother's blood-limit. Thinking back he found it strange that molding wind chakra was relative easier than molding fire chakra. Shrugging his shoulders he picked up the book again and began reading once more. With all three elemental chakras mastered, whether or not he would be able to use his mother's blood limit would be determined by if his body could combine the two elements.

**Three months later**

Naruto walked towards the beach. He now wore a simple blue kimono that went down to his knees with blue pants and a red wig that went a little past his shoulders. On his face he wore a powder that blended in well with his skin covering his whisker birth marks effectively. His eye brows were still blonde but he'd dye them as soon as he got back to Hot spring country.

He readjusted the pack he had slung over his shoulder. The last seven to eight months of training had payed off. He had actually been able to combine both wind and fire elements with water. His mother's blood-limit was at his disposal and for that he was proud. he could have left the island a month ago but he wanted to train for another month just to be sure. Checking his pack one last time making sure he had the scrolls he would need to continue his training among other things he felt he would need such as extra make up, some food, and a little bit of money he found here and there.

Afterwards he walked onto the water and spun through a series of hand signs deactivating the whirlpools before him. Once he passed the area the whirlpools resided he turned around and reactivate them. Turning around once more he sped off towards Hot spring country.

* * *

**Present time**

A steady knock on the double doors broke Naruto out of his thoughts. He opened his mouth to welcome the person in but a stern feminine voice interrupted him.

"Why do you even bother knocking, it's not like he's going to say no!"

"It's called being polite, but then again I wouldn't expect YOU to know that" replied a softer yet more forceful feminine voice.

"What did you say?" hissed the stern girl.

Silence filled the air for a few seconds. To the trained ear you could hear a slight shift, as if the other girl had just took a pose. Naruto had to cover his mouth to muffle his laughter. This would not be the first time they argued and he had learned from past incidents that interrupting only led to directing their anger towards him.

"I'm saying you don't know how to act like a proper women." spoke the soft yet forceful girl.

"Don't you even start that shit with me." Another shift could be heard but this sounded forced as if someone was grabbed. "Got it BITCH !" finished the stern girl.

Recognizing the end of the discussion Naruto wiped all humor off his faced. The door slammed open and an obviously pissed girl entered. She had long hair that could be argued whether it was a light shade of red or a dark shade of pink. Somehow her hair had a sleek yet wild look to it with one of her stray bangs running down between her eyebrows and along the right side of her noise. She wore a black bandana with a whirlpool plate. Her eyes were a dark brown. Dressed in a short grey kimono that almost covered a black skin tight long sleeve shirt and matching shorts with black sandals. She turned towards the door glaring at the next girl walking in.

Unlike the first girl she walked in with a sense of pride. Her hair was a rose red and was in an unorthodox style. One side barely went past her chin and appeared unkempt and jagged while the other side went a little below shoulder length and was neatly combed. Her eyes were the same color as her hair as she wore a pair of brown framed glasses. She wore a lavender jacket zipped up all the way but oddly had the bottom undone just enough to expose her naval area. The black shorts on her were well...short. Her black stockings went up to her mid thigh and the shoes were small and seemed to blend in. On her wrist was a Whirlpool headband

Both girls looked to be at sixteen with the pissed girl seem to have slightly older features. Feeling a glare directed at him Naruto turned towards the grey clad kunoichi.

Raising a blue leather covered hand in self defense." Now before you say anything I didn't do _anything _Tayuya."

Tayuya scoffed. "That's just it dumb-ass, you _didn't_ do anything. You could have invited us in, instead of just sitting back and snickering"

The other girl tilted her glasses by the side smiling the entire time.

"AND YOU, don't go thinking this is over with Karin! I'll deal with your ass later." said Tayuya

Naruto to this day still couldn't believe he had not only adopted/recruited Tayuya and Karin into his village, but also into his clan as his sisters. He looked at Tayuya once more. His eye's filled with a sense of gentleness no other man would show her. Tayuya still busy glaring at Karin didn't notice.

* * *

**1 year and seven months ago**

Naruto had been doing odd jobs in hot spring country for some time now. Naruto was reluctant to leave yet due to certain road blocks. The first road block was the fact that in order for him to travel to any other country or village besides lightning country he would have to pass through either fire country or sound territory. Risk being found by leaf hunter nin or Jiriaya and dealing with Grandma Tsunades wrath was not a pleasant idea. And accidentaly running into Orochimaru seemed less than uncomfortable. He had made amazing progress over the last eight months but he wouldn't allow himself to think he could take on the world. Very rarely did ninja fights come down to who was stronger but more so of who was more cunning or who simply had the element of surprise.

Needing supplies he stopped by a general store. Grabbing some much needed make up and food, he walked up to the red headed cashier. She looked familiar but he didn't pay it any mind.

" What the fuck are you doing buying make up for. What are you some damn cross dresser?"

Naruto's head snapped up taking a better look at the cashier. It took a moment for the pieces to fit but once they did any smarts he had gained over time seem to have

dissapeared as he blurted out his exact thoughts.

"HOLY SHIT, IT'S YOU! TAYUYA!"

Tayuya looked at Naruto shock evident on her face. But unlike Naruto that didn't stop her instincts. She had grabbed and thrown him against the wall so fast that he never saw her pull out the kunai. She held it to his neck with a firm grip looking for one more reason to slit his throat.

"Alright fucktard you have a minute to explain how the hell you know me?" hissed Tayuya.

" It was when I was on a team to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha from you and three other guys!" replied Naruto.

"Bull shit I remember that mission too damn well and i don't remember a red head chasing us!" countered Tayuya her voice laced with hate.

Naruto's mind was blank for a few seconds. "Mywigtakeoffmywig!" blurted out Naruto franticly having been counting every second to the minute promised.

She understood him if barely. reaching up she grabbed the red hair and yanked it off revealing a head full of medium length blonde unruly hair.

An image of a blonde loud mouth annoying kid instantly played through her head. But that kid had whiskers and this _guy_didn't. Suddenly she remembered the make up. Her kunoichi mind began processing all the information that lay before her and finally one thought came to her.

'HE'S HIDING'

Naruto was thanking god, he never thought he'd be so glad to see signs of recognition on someones face again. Tayuya had slowly let go of him and began to back up. She still held her kunia but that was to be expected. The two stared at each other for some time before lowering their guard. Both looked at each other with curious questioning looks. After the tension lifted they began firing their question back and forth.

Naruto began explaining his disguise and the original reason he left Konoha along with his new ambition. After he finished Tayuya had to admit it took guts for what he was attempting but never spoke her opinion. Somehow Tayuya had survived her encounter with Temari. And apparently a traveling merchant trying to travel around the border of sound country had chanced upon her. When he had found her she was buried from her waist down in trees and other debris. It was only with a little luck that the merchant had a small shovel and had dug a trench deep enough underneath her so he could drag her out from under it. After that he carried her to his initial destination Hot spring country. After arriving in a town she was dropped off at the nearest hospital. After that was her road to recovery.

" What about Orochimaru and the curse seal?" asked Naruto.

Tayuya looked as if there was a bitter taste in her mouth. " I still have the curse seal. But I don't know anything about that trash now. Most likely left me for dead." she replied barely above a whisper.

There was another moment of silence. After a minute or two they began passing a few more random question here and there. When it felt like there was nothing more to discuss Naruto regathered his supplies and payed for them before waving goodbye and leaving the store. As he walked he thought back to his talk with Tayuya and another discussion he had with Shikamaru. Shikamaru had led the mission to retrieve Sasuke and had been the one to fight Tayuya. As usual he said the girl was troublesome, but complimented her as a shinobi and further went on to explain that out of all the sound four she seemed to have the most morals. Although now that he had talked to her face to face she seemed different. Naruto simply chalked it up to loneliness. He could sympathize with her. Eight months being alone had changed Naruto as well.

Stopping a block away from the general store Naruto turned back to look at it.

" I can't believe I'm considering this." whispered Naruto.

Walking back into the store and back up to Tayuya the entire time she was giving him a confused look.

"I want you become a part of my family." said Naruto as blunt as possible.

Tayuya brain had frozen. She repeated the sentence in her mind slowly. Her faced filled with anger.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY PERVERT!" A resounding smack echoed through the town.

Naruto now sporting a red hand mark on his left cheek slowly lifted himself up. Dumbfounded he repeated his own sentence trying to find where he went wrong. He sighed as he realized his screw up.

"Sorry I didn't mean as one of my wives. i meant more along the lines as a sister." apologized Naruto

Tayuya seemed to calm down but still kept her aggressive appearance. And quickly responded with a sound no. Naruto not one to give up easily had continued to persuade/bug Tayuya. Naruto would eventually have to leave but came back the next day to try again. This process had continued a week striaght before Tayuya finally broke down and asked him why her.

"Well as you know I'm trying to rebuild my village, but another thing I want to do is rebuild my clan. I don't want to put just anyone into it ninja or not. I want people with key features that my clan was known for and your pink... er red hair is a rare thing to find. Add to the fact that your a damn good ninja with some morals to it and why wouldn't i want you?" Explained Naruto

Tayuya who was only used to people such as Orochimaru saying she was useful was shocked. She wasn't used to people complementing her hair or her skills and the people that did were just looking for a quick lay. She quickly began thinking of a reply.

"Thats good and an all fucktard but why should i go along with this? Whats in it for me, I'm not a damn charity case?"

Naruto smiled but quickly removed it when he saw her begin to get pissed again seeing it.

" Well for one you'll have a good reason to get out of this store. I doubt you really enjoy acting nice to the various strangers that walk in and out of here." stated Naruto

Tayuya nodded " And what else?"

" This second reason is kind of a mutual gain..." Naruto stopped thinking about when he learned such a word as _mutual._

Seeing Tayuya grow impatient he continued. " I've been trapped on an island alone for quite a while. While you've been _trapped_ here with no one to talk to but the customers and your boss. It would be nice to have someone to talk to that has something to talk about other than "nice day" or "how's business going" right?"

"Well your right about that. Truth be told i don't know what I'd do if another damn person openly reflects on "how nice the weather is". Anything else?"

Naruto thought a minute. "Not really other than the obvious benefits if I achieve my goals."

She stared at him for a few minutes. He was pretty spot on about her predicament. She was tired of this town and though she wouldn't admit it she did enjoy their initial conversation before he came back and began bugging her. But she didn't really know him and despite how dull her life was at the moment she was tired of being used and tossed aside.

"How do i know you won't use me, just to throw me away once you have what you want?" asked Tayuya in a demanding tone.

A look of understanding crossed his face. " You have a good point, you really can't. But is there a way i can prove myself?"

This guy just kept surprising her. She had expected him to give some bull shit reason on why she should trust him. Instead he openly admits she can't and asks her if he could gain her trust. She smirked

"Well there is one way fucktard. But it won't be easy."

Seeing him shrug she decided to continue on.

" My flute got destroyed in that last fight. If you can get me another one I'll join you. But it can't be just any flute. It'll need to be strong enough to withstand a good amount of pressure. In fact the only place i can think of that would have what I'm looking for is Earth country."

Naruto understood instantly what she was getting at. He had told her his reason behind still being in Hot spring country. And now that he thought about it this was a perfect way to prove himself. He stood weighing the pros and cons. If he was successful he would have a strong ally and be one step closer to fulfilling his ambition. But if he got caught by either Orochimaru or Leaf nins it would all come to an end.

" Alright I'll do it" answered Naruto.

After writing down the name and description of what type of flute he would be looking for she sent him on his way.

She was expecting the trip to take at least two and a half weeks, but when he walked in dirty and pale nine days later she didn't know what to say. Fortunately for her she didn't get the chance as he promptly lost consciousness after taking a few steps in. She drag him to the back where a rest area was. Propping him up in a corner she searched his travel bag finding a rectangular case. Opening it up, sure enough was exactly what she told him to get down to the finest detail.

**One month later Somewhere in Taki.**

The trip to and from Earth country plus the price for Tayuya's flute had put Naruto back to square one. But on the bright side with Tayuya now travelling around with him people were willing to hire him for more expensive missions. Naruto had tried doing some missions on his own before but thanks to the fact that he was only fifteen people were quick to hire other people based on their size and stature. Tayuya'sattitude acted like a double edge knife. Although he was the main target of her crude words, when she turned her attention to possible employers they tended to be less judgemental. Thanks to better paying jobs Naruto and Tayuya had been collecting money at a faster rate than before, but at the same time when you include traveling expenses along with resupplying the amount of money they were saving up was petty. Naruto had been getting irritated lately. Tayuya's attitude could only help persuade people to a certain extent and depending on the missions difficulty they would most likely tell them to get lost. He had been trying to hide his irritation, but Tayuya had been noticing it. They continued walking through the forest till Tayuya wanted answers.

"Alright jackass whats bothering you?"

Naruto let a sigh slip deciding that trying to lie to her would only piss her off.

"I'm just a little annoyed that we're not making much progress. If we were just a bit older we wouldn't be having too much trouble."

Nodding her head " Yeah well it's not like it was going to be fucking easy."

Sighing again " I know, If i could find some more ninjas to join my village then i would be able to send them out and have them help gather money. but most missing nin aren't what i would call trusting and the ones that can be trusted are either too paranoid or too scared. Besides that it's not like a can just walk up to just any ninja and ask them to abandon there village and join mine"

"Your right about that jackass. It's not like there's any place that has a big ass number of powerful ninjas with no real allegiances..." Tayuya stopped walking as soon as she finished her sentence just realizing something.

"Heheh, yeah just means... " having noticed the empty space next to him, Naruto turned around to look at Tayuya.

"Hey Tayuya you ok?" asked Naruto

"I'm alright it's just... I just realized that there is such a place." said Tayuya in a rather low tone.

Naruto raised a eyebrow. "Really? Well where is this place?"

Tayuya shook her head. 'Your not going to like the answer.' Thought Tayuya.

Deciding to answer anyway she spoke."It's in Sound country. One of Orochimaru's prisons."

**Two days later **

Tayuya had explained how Orochimaru had a few prisons in Sound country. She continued to tell Naruto how Orochimaru would capture ninjas and even clans of ninjas that had rare blood limits or had powerful jutsus and how one particular prison was not only huge but housed some of the strongest ninjas. Naruto had asked Tayuya to help him break into this prison. She agreed but only because if they were successful it would cause Orochimaru to lose a rather large number of test subjects and piss him off in the process.

Right now they were running through the stone wall clad prison looking for any traps or guards nearby. The place had several winding passages with several doors lining both sides of the walls. Many doors had several seals imprinted on them and the only source of light were torches being powered by certain seals. To Naruto the place felt like a maze and had decided to make several mental notes of particular structures that stood out and the turns they made through the prison.

"Hey shouldn't there be some guards." asked Naruto.

"Yeah, I don't understand what the fucks going on." said Tayuya looking around at the guard-less prison. "Maybe that pale asshole decided that this place didn't need guards anymore."

"Well if that's the case lets split up and try to find the wardens office." said Naruto

Nodding her head in understanding she began running down one path while Naruto took another. Naruto continued walking through the prison for a another five minutes before coming across a corridor with only one door at the end. Walking up to the door he could see that it was bare of any seals. Opening the door he smiled at seeing a room with a big work desk and several filing cabinets lined up behind it with a simple bed sitting over in corner. Taking a step into the door he was stopped by a kunai placed against his neck.

"Don't take another step forward!" Commanded a soft feminine voice.

Looking down he saw the kunai being clumsily held at his neck by a soft pale hand. Tilting his head he saw the owner of said hand behind him. She was no older than him and had long rose red hair. On her face was small glasses and she dressed rather skimpy. He could easily get out of this, but decided to play along.

"How did you know i was here?" asked Naruto.

" I sensed your chakra." She answered.

Naruto frowned. " As if, I had lowered my chakra level and with as many prisoners that are here there's no way you would be able to tell me apart from them."

The girl smiled before proudly answering." I'm not like other sensor's. My sensing ability is one of a kind. With it i can sense multiple people and tell them apart. I knew you were here the second you came within nine feet of this prison. Now who are you and why are you here? Oh and don't bother lying, I'll know your lying by the fluctuations in your chakra."

A smile grew on Naruto's face " That's really impressive." admitted Naruto.

A split second was all Naruto needed to snatch the kunai out of her hand, grab her arm throwing her over his shoulder and into the room. He stood in the doorway effectively blocking the only exit.

"My names Naruto Uzumaki, now whats yours?" asked Naruto

The girl looked at him, seeing no harm in doing so and hoping to buy time to think she answered.

"Karin, just Karin."

"Karin how would you like to join my clan?" asked Naruto.

Before Karin could ask him what he was talking about he began explaining about his goal and his objective in coming to the prison. He made sure to inform her that he did not want her as a wife but merely wanted her in his clan due to her red hair and unique talent.

"So what do you say. Wanna join my clan and help?"

"And why should i betray Orochimaru and go with you?" asked Karin

"Because eventually he will betray you." stated Naruto.

Karen was confused. She could tell he wasn't lying, but then again maybe it was due to the fact that he didn't know Orochimaru and simply believed what he thought.

"And i should believe you over him. After my village was destroyed he gave me a place to stay. He's never lied to me. Why would he betray me?" said Karin daring him to answer.

Naruto simply began laughing. " Who's to say that it was not Orochimaru himself who had your village destroyed. And as far as lying goes, well Orochimaru has always had a way with words. There's a way around your lie detector."

She narrowed her eyes at him. " As if." was her only response.

"Fine then. How about this then. You ask me a few questions and I'll answer them without telling you the real answer. The first time I'll tell the truth. If you can honestly tell I'm lying to you I'll step aside and let you walk right out of here. But if I succeed then you have to join my clan." said Naruto

Karin stood there a minute thinking over his challenge.

"Fine then, but don't be disappointed when i bust you."

Naruto simply smiled.

"I'll ask you three questions. First question, what is your favorite food?" asked Karin

"I have to say dangos a nice snack" responded Naruto.

"second question, whats your favorite activity?"

" I really do enjoy reading about my families history."

"Third question, you were once a Konoha nin. Why did you leave?"

"Many people in Konoha lied to me."

Karin had stared at him. He had told her the truth. But something didn't seem right. The way he answered reminded her of Orochimaru somewhat. The way he seemed to have been talking about something else but answering her questions at the same time.

" Ok go ahead and try to lie to me this time." said Karin.

Naruto's smiled widened greatly. " But i did lie to you."

Karins eyes widened. "Don't screw with me, I know you didn't lie."

"Well, i guess I'll just have to prove you wrong." said Naruto. His grin never leaving his face.

" My favorite food is ramen and my favorite activity is learning new jutsus. I left Konoha so I could rebuild my mother's home village and clan." stated Naruto.

Karin back up till she felt the wall on her back. " How did you do it? How did you lie to me without me detecting it?" asked Karin obviously frightened.

"Well to be fair I never really did lie, but I never really answered your questions either. I simply stated facts in a way that it appeared I was answering your question. Orochimaru probably does the same thing" said Naruto.

"Why should I trust you either then. You just proved you know a way around my lie detector." said Karin sadly. Her self esteem broken.

" Cause jackass here isn't smart enough to talk like that all the time." answered Tayuya walking around the corner and making herself known.

Tayuya had been there the whole time, but thanks to the fact that Karin was so focused on Naruto she never detected her.

"Hey Tayuya, I was wondering when you would show yourself." said Naruto keeping his eye's on Karin the entire time.

Having heard Tayuya's name Karin looks towards her. "Tayuya? As in one of the sound four?"

Naruto looks to Tayuya. "Know each other?"

"She wouldn't know me. I've only been here for a couple months. A lot of people talked about the sound four and it's members. But i thought you died." says Karin before Tayuya can speak.

"Almost fucking did. But let me tell you this. Your better working for this jackass than Orochimaru. I was one of his top four and he still abandoned me." said Tayuya.

Karin understood Tayuya but she still wasn't sure."Why do you trust this guy. Who to say he won't abandon us as well." said Karin pointing at Naruto.

Naruto for his part decided that staying silent was the best thing to do. Karin didn't want to believe him so he decided to let Tayuya do the talking.

"I don't fucking blame you for not wanting to trust him. Hell i was the same way. Even thought the same damn thing. But someone who puts himself and his own dreams at risk just to get me to join him isn't going to abandon me." said Tayuya

Karin seemed to soften up after hearing this. When Tayuya saw this she decided to add one last statement in.

"And besides you made a fucking deal with him and now whether you fucking like it or not your apart of clan Uzamaki so you better just make the best of it"

Thanks to Karin joining, it made it that much easier to free the prisoners. Naruto was just going to free all the prisoners and give his speech on his goal and see who wanted to help and let the others go, but Karin had explained how her sensory abilities worked. After hearing how Karin could not only tell how strong a person was by their chakra but could also look at a persons chakra and see how dark it was, Naruto decided to let Karin filter through the prisoners first. Of course not all of the prisoners had agreed to join Naruto and help him accomplish his dream but many that were grateful for Naruto for rescuing them did. Naruto now had a over four hundred ninjas added to his cause. After returning to the hidden village of the whirling waves Naruto informed _his _new ninja what the current goal was and sent them out to go on missions. Naruto,Tayuya, and Karin had remained at the village for a few weeks to ensure that fights didn't break out between ninja clans and so Naruto could turn the whirlpools on and off for ninjas leaving out for missions and returning. After three weeks Naruto had taught a few of the ninjas how to turn the whirlpools on and off and had decided to head out and help collect money.

* * *

**Present time **

Tayuya having finished glaring at Karin looked back to Naruto. Noticing him looking towards her.

"Hey dumbass what'cha looking at?"

Naruto didn't respond

"Dumb-ass i asked you what the hell your looking at."

Still no response.

"Is he asleep?" asked Karin her voice carrying a hint of concern.

Not having any patience today Tayuya walked around the desk and slapped him over the head. The slap had knocked off the Uzukage hat he was wearing revealing his face. His crimson red hair though not as long as hers was pretty damn close. His face no longer sported the whisker like birthmarks and was pale. She couldn't help but smile when she remembered how these changes came and how freaked out Naruto was. It took him thirty minutes to remember that his bloodline altered his genes. The transition from Tanned blonde to Pale redhead took nearly a month to complete.

"Ow sis did you have to hit so hard?" asked Naruto in a annoyed manor.

" I wouldn't have had to hit you at all if you weren't day dreaming dumb-ass." replied Tayuya.

Deciding to get onto business Karin interrupted by dropping a stack of papers and a few scrolls on his desk onto Naruto desk.

"Here are the mission reports. And the scrolls are new missions from the hot spring Damiyo. Also Tazuna wants you to know that some of the civilian council have concerns about taxes. " said Karen.

Naruto looked at Karin letting her know he was paying attention. He owed it to her. She had become his secretary in a ways. From filing papers to reminding him of urgent business. She had helped contribute to the village in many ways. He couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for her, the village would not have been formed so quickly. In fact had he not had her with him one day the village would have taken another eight years to get where it was now.

* * *

**1 year and four months ago**

Naruto, Karin, and Tayuya were walking through grass country for some time. Thanks to Naruto's physical changes, he no longer needed the wig or make up to disguise himself. Karin had suddenly stopped looking to her right into a forest, a look of confusion on her face.

"Karin whats up?" asked Naruto

" There are two strong chakra sources nearby." said Karin

Tayuya rolled her eyes. " So what, we've run into several fucking strong people."

" I can't explain how, but one of them has an affinity to all five elemental chakras." said Karin.

Both Naruto and Tayuya became shocked and began staring at the forest.

" That's not fucking possible. There no damn way someone can do that. You sure your not just sensing five people ." Tayuya asked

Karin shook her head. " No this is definitely one person. The other one has a weird chakra as well but i don't understand it really."

"Lets go have a look." said Naruto.

"Have you fucking lost it jackass. She just told us There's a chakra source doing the impossible and you want to see what the fuck it is." said Tayuya a little frantic.

Naruto stopped for a second. " I don't plan to get too close. I just want to see who or what is capable of doing such a thing." Having said that he continued forward.

Tayuya and Karin followed him, both not liking the idea. They walked on for a few minutes before Karin stopped them.

"Alright the chakra sources are about twenty-five feet in front of us."

They looked forward but couldn't see anything except for a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing appeared to be a door lying on the ground. Before any of them could wonder, it swung open. They instantly went into hiding. Watching from afar they saw two figures walk out of the now confirmed underground passage. The second they looked at their cloaks the group froze. Both members wore long black cloaks with red clouds. While they were too far away to see much they could tell that one carried some weird three blade scythe and the other had a mask on covering his entire head. Luckily for them, after the two Akatsuki members closed the door and covered it with dirt they headed in the opposite direction.

"Well are you fucking happy now or would you like another turn at curiosity killed the fucking cat." whispered Tayuya

Naruto looked apologetic towards Tayuya. " Yeah, don't worry I'm not stupid enough to try and fight them. But I am curious about what they were doing underground."

"Well if you want to theres no one in there that i can sense." said Karin

Having heard that Naruto headed for the hidden passage and entered, Tayuya and Karin following behind. At the end of the passage was a room that had metal cabinets lining the walls. Naruto walked up to the nearest cabinet and opened it. His eyes widened at the sight before him.

"Holy shit" was all he could say.

Having heard him, Tayuya and Karin walked over to see what had him stuck in awe. The second they saw what he was looking at caused them to join in his shock. After a few seconds passed Tayuya went to the nearest cabinet opening it only to find the same thing. Inside the cabinets were lots and lots of money. She opened one cabinet to the next only to find more money stashed away in each one.

Finally snapping out of his shock Naruto began laughing as if he had been told the best joke ever. Tayuya and Karin soon joined him. It felt like hours before they could finally calm themselves. Naruto created thirty clones and had half of them transform into large bags. Without being told Naruto, his clones, Karin and Tayuya began grabbing as much money as they could and dumping it into the bags. Smiling the entire time.

**Three days later**

To the ninjas of the village hidden among the whirling pools the sight they saw was rather comical. Their leader or to be correct multiple copies of their leader along with his two siblings had just dashed by jumping from roof to roof while carrying big heavy bags. When Naruto, Karin, and Tayuya had reach the Uzukage building once inside they dumped their loads onto the ground and Naruto dispelled his clones. He wiped the sweat of his forehead. Karin never took her eyes off of the bags and bags of money.

"How fucking much do you think that is?" asked Tayuya finally voicing what they were all thinking.

"Well i don't know how much exactly, but if i had to go by how heavy they are I'd have to say at least seven...no... ten billion ryo." said Naruto

"I guess the only way where really going to know is if we count it all." Said Karen.

Tayuya sighed."But that's a lot of damn money to count."

After they had counted all the money they couldn't help but laugh and shout. Many of the other ninjas swore they were partying. After they had taken a chunk out of the money they would need to pay for rebuilding the village, Karin had suggested taking a portion of the remaining funds and actually buy Hot spring country. Naruto had thought this over and had decided that they would attempt this after the repairs were done and over with. The next day he had taken the amount needed for repairs and headed off for the land of waves. Once there he made a bee line for Tazuna's house. Knocking at the door he waited impatiently. He had wanted to come back for a while now but between everything that happened in Konoha and his new dream he just didn't have time. Fortunately for the next part he would need someone of Tazuna's expertise.

It was rather funny to Naruto when he reintroduced himself to Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari. The poor old drunk nearly dropped his sake bottle and actually did when he explained his reason for being there. Initially Tazuna thought he was joking, but that idea vanished when Naruto showed him his payment for the job. Tazuna's first question to Naruto was what bank he robbed. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at how close to the truth Tazuna was. Once everything was set and ready Naruto had left with Tazuna, his family, and his carpenters on a boat back to his village.

**Two weeks later**

The repairs to the village were going great. Tazuna had acted like a slave driver. He would sometimes shout to the men that "they were rebuilding their hero's village and this would be the only way they could ever repay him". Naruto smiled at this. One day he had pulled Tazuna aside to offer him a chance to live in the village once it was done. Tazuna thought about it. On one hand once the repairs were done the place would look amazing, but on the other hand he would be leaving behind friends. Seeing the doubtful look on Tazuna's face Naruto decided to twist the poor man's arm by talking to Inari about the idea. Telling him how _cool _it would be and how he would even have a chance to become a ninja. Tazuna couldn't decide whether to be happy for Inari or to deck Naruto and wipe that damn grin off his face. Eventually he gave into the idea and told Naruto yes and decided to agree on it with a nice _strong _handshake. Naruto assuming that it was merely a friendly handshake was not prepared for when Tazuna's grip suddenly got five times stronger which had caused Naruto's hand to whine in protest with a series of cracks and pops. Inari too caught up in his day dream of how it would be to be a ninja was oblivious to Naruto's pained look or the noise his hand was making. After finally getting his hands free Naruto had decided to let Tazuna get back to work while promising to himself to get him back eventually. While watching Tazuna work he couldn't help but remember his first mission to wave and of Zabuza along with Haku. It then occurred to him that he had yet to visit Kiri. He had avoided it thanks to the blood line hunt, but decided it was time to go and see Kiri's situation.

**Four days later**

He had taken Karin with him and gotten on a boat set for Kiri. Once their he had begun gathering information on how things were going. Apparently Kiri was in the middle of a civil war due to the blood line hunt. Initially Karin had suggested that they leave for Naruto's safety. But Naruto said that he wasn't planning on leaving. Over the year Naruto had learned to mask his anger, but Karin could tell that Naruto was pissed even though he didn't show it. Naruto had asked Karin to try and find a large group of people with possible blood lines. It didn't take Karin long to do so and they headed for a large run down building. As they entered Naruto had immediately jump to the side pushing Karin along with him to avoid a barrage of shurikens and jutsu thrown by the mist rebel ninjas.

"Stop I'm not your enemy!" shouted Naruto in the hopes they listened.

Ignoring his plea they continue to attack. Deciding that he wasn't going to get through to them with words Naruto flipped through four hand seals

" Ice style:Frozen wall encampment jutsu!" A wall of water surronded Naruto and Karin before freezing .

When the rebels saw this they stopped immediately. Naruto canceled his jutsu once he was sure they would no longer attack. A woman who appeared to be in her thirties approached Naruto. She had unbelievably long auburn hair that went down to her ankles and had four bangs two of which that covered her right eye and crisscrossed at the ends.. She wore a blue dress that hung onto the sides of her upper arms. while the dress only went up to the underside of her well endowed breastshe wore a mesh shirt that covered the rest of her breast and stopped at her shoulders. She wore high heel boots that went up to her knees and apparently the women liked the color blue because she wore blue lipstick and nail polish. Naruto would admit the woman had an air about her that screamed sexy but powerful.

"I'm sorry for our attack, we've been on edge lately and when we saw you coming we thought you were spies sent here. I'm the leader of this rebel faction, my names Mei Terumi."

Naruto still caught up in Mei's looks didn't respond, Karin having sensed his emotions through his chakra had decided to jab him in his side with a quick elbow.

"Ow, oh aaaaa. Yeah I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this is my sister Karin Uzumaki." said Naruto, a slight blush on his face showing his embarrassment.

Some of the rebels had laughed at the situation understanding full well his thoughts.

" So why did you come here. Are you hoping to join us?" asked Mei.

Naruto took a moment to think before speaking. " Well yes and no. We're not from here, I came here originally to see how Kiri was doing. But when i heard how this civil war was still going on I decided that I would offer you my services, for a price of course. As you saw I have a blood limit and Karin here is an advanced sensor, it was thanks to her that I was able to find this base. I had her focus on finding a large group of people with blood limits."

Many rebels were impressed by Karin's ability.

"Mind if I test how good she is?" asked Mei

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Sure go ahead."

"Alright why don't you tell me all you can find out about my chakra?" asked Mei

Karin had taken a little time to analyse her. "Your affinities are earth, water, and fire. Your blood limit allows you to combine earth and fire to form lava elemental chakra and ... oh hey she's like you Naruto, she can combine water and fire to form boil elemental chakra like you."

Mei gave an impressed look at Karin before shifting her gaze to Naruto. " So you can also use boil along with ice, impressive. So how much would it take to hire you two, we could certainly use your help.

" Heheh well my price is more of a deal to be exact. If I help you I want you to make an alliance between our two villages." said Naruto.

Naruto then went on to explain his goal and just how close he was to achieving. It was safe to say that everyone one in the building sported shocked faces by the time Naruto's explaination was done. Once she was over her shock Mei thought about what an alliance with Naruto would mean.

"I have to admit that's rather amazing to say the least. This deal of yours is actually beneficial to us as well. Once we get rid of the current Mizukage we'll be left in a state of chaos. Yagura's ways won't just dissapear over night and it will take some time before his influence is gone. If we make the alliance other countries will be less inclined to take advantage of our state." said Mei holding out a hand towards Naruto.

Naruto took ahold of her hand. "So I take it we have a deal."

Mei gave him a nod. "Yes, we have a deal."

For the next two months Mei had led the rebels in hit and run tactics slowly weakening down Yagura's forces. With Karin aiding them she could not only prepare them for offensive strikes but could also warn them of when a group of mist ninja were getting close. Naruto had been aiding in the fights as much as he could with his jutsus and had been the heavy hitter for their attack forces.

Mei had notice that Naruto had been favoring his ice jutsus over his boil jutsuand had decided to ask why. When he told her it was due to the fact that he knew very little boil style jutsu and that it was harder for him to mold the chakra to pull them off she decided to teach him one of her boil jutsu. She taught him the boil style: skilled mist jutsu. Naruto had picked up on it rather fast and had discovered it was a rather good way to practice molding boil chakra due to the fact that it only required one hand sign.

Thanks to their efforts the rebels had been making good progress. Mei having felt that it was time to attempt an attack on Yagura had gathered them and began explaining the plan. The idea was to have most of the rebel forces keep Yagura's mist ninja occupied while Mei, a few rebels of her choice, and Naruto would attack Yagura himself and assassinate him. Mei had told Karin that she wanted her to find a well hidden spot and warn them over the radio's of reinforcements and where Yagura's forces were.

**A few hours after midnight**

The night guards patrolling the Mizukage building had gone into a defensive stance when a thick mist suddenly rolled in. Two heavily clothed rebels had jumped through the mist and thrown kunais at them. The night guards had tried to reach their own weapons and tried to deflect the oncoming kunais but found that their bodies felt stiff and the movements had become sluggish. It was too late when they realized how cold the mist that surrounded them was and the kunais ended their lives. Naruto canceled his jutsu revealing himself and a shivering Mei.

"That was rather impressive how you combined your ice element with the hidden mist jutsu. I just wish it didn't affect me as well." said Mei practicly hugging herself trying to warm up.

Naruto couldn't help but snicker. " I told you to dress in warmer clothes."

Mei shot Naruto a glare before moving on into the building with Naruto and the other two rebels following behind. A series of explosions went off signaling that the other rebels had begun their attack. With stealth no longer an option they ran down the hallway turning here and there until they saw a set of double doors at the end. Mei gathered chakra to her mouth and spat out 5 globs of magma. The globs broke through the door and hit the ANBU waiting to ambush them. One of them had survived and rushed towards Mei attempting to cut her in half with his katana but was met halfway by Naruto who blocked his strike with a kunai. Naruto focused wind chakra into his kunaiand cut through the ANBU's katana and neck as if they were butter, splattering his blood across the wall. As soon as everyone was in the Mizukage's office which resembled a large throne room more so than a office, Mei turned towards the broken doors and shot a long stream of magma effectively covering them and blocking the only escape root.

When Naruto had been told about all the things Yagura had done he expected a strong looking man with either a emotionless mask on or a evil sneer adorning his face. But what stood before him blew his idea out of the water. Yagura looked a few years younger than Naruto. He had grey messy hair and pink pupilless eyes. under his left eye he had stitches running down to the bottom of his cheek. He wore a grey short sleeved shirt with matching pants. over it he wore a green pancho over his shoulders and a sash around his waist. Unlike most ninjas who wore sandles, Yagura wore brown boots. On his back hung a staff with uneven hooks on both ends. His pink eyes looked at them with obvious boredom.

"I see someone has once again come to take my life." said Yagura with a voice that sounded far older than he looked.

Naruto had expected Mei to give one of those heroic speeches, but instead she opted to use her skilled mist jutsu and spewed an acidic haze at Yagura. Narutorealizing that his ice style jutsus would only get in the way began a series of hand seal for a strong boil jutsu. Before he could finish, a heavily burned Yagura had jumped towards him swinging his staff to impale him on it's hook. Naruto abandoned his jutsu and caught the staff just barelyan inch from his heart. He held onto the staff and refused to let go in hopes of giving the others a chance to attack or at least force Yagura to abandon his weapon. Yagura noticed the two rebel charging at him from behind. He increased his chakra immensely and yanked the staff out of Naruto's grasp causing him to lose his balance. Yagura then swung his staff knocking the two rebels away while in the same motion tripped Naruto with the other end. He then swung his staff downward towards Naruto only to be forced to dodged as Mei began spitting globs of magma at him.

Naruto took this time to get up and pull out one of his kunais infusing it with wind chakra. As soon as Yagura's foot left the ground as he jumped back to avoid another magma glob, Naruto launch his kunai at him. Yagura having no way to dodge it he spun his staff in a attempt to deflect it. The kunai carved through the staff and sailed through Yagura's right lung. Yagura fell down to the ground leaving a long trail of blood and grasped his wound and began wheezing as if he couldn't breathe. Seeing this Mei shot a stream of magma over Yagura covering him. Mei and the other two rebels smiled. Naruto however had a bad feeling. For some reason he knew it wasn't over yet. Suddenly the magma was blown away revealing Yagura completely healed and covered in a green cloak of chakra that had a tail lazily dragging across the ground. Mei and the other two rebels had been shocked by the fact that Yagura had survived. Naruto was shocked to discover that Yagura was a jinchuriki. Yagura immediately began a long sequence of hand seals.

"Water style: Water Dragon Bullet!" yelled Yagura with a water dragon forming above him.

Having snapped out of their shock, Naruto and Mei jumped away from each other just barely avoiding the attack. The water dragon shot past them and crashed through the wall. Yagura had dashed towards them as if to attack. Mei and Naruto prepared to counter only for Yagurato run pass them and jump through the hole made from his jutsu. They immediately chased after him while the other two rebels just stood there, unable to move thanks to their fear. Yagura had sped off towards the ocean and didn't stop till he was a good ways out. Naruto and Mei had stopped a few feet away. Both side had stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move. Yagura's patience ran out and his chakra increased once more as his chakra cloak gained a second tail. Mei unprepared for Yagura's new speed received a over head kick and sent flying. Naruto enveloped himself in a red cloak of chakrasporting one tail in hopes of at least keeping up with Yagura. Though he was able to keep himself from taking any damage, Yagura's speed was greater and kept him on the defense. Mei had returned to the fight and began aiding Naruto. Thanks to Yagura's focus being split on both of them, they were able to land quite a few hit on him. Yagura gathered a large amount of chakra and used it to create a shock-wave. It had force Mei to retreat, but did little to impede Naruto. A powerful right straight sent Yagura skipping across the ocean. Naruto had tried to follow up with another attack only for the nine tails fox to try and force more power on him. It took all his willpower to force the demons chakra back. Unfortunately he also lost his chakra cloak as a result.

"Damn fox. I'm useless to Mei if I become a mindless beast." thought Naruto.

Mei walked up to Naruto just as Yagura got back on his feet. He was panting and obviously exhausted.

"It looks like... I'll have to use all... of it."

Both Naruto and Mei had to jump back as Yagura's chakra cloak exploded and beganincreasing in size. The chakra thickened and began taking shape. Yagurahad taken on the form of the demon locked inside of him. Before them was a grey turtle that towered over them. it had spike like protrusions covering it's head and shell. Behind it's body were three tails swishing back and forth in uneven rhythms.

"What the hell!" said Mei.

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. He knew what happened, but he had thought that only Garra was capable of creating a body of his demon to fight with. Naruto had jumped way from Mei trying to put as much distance between them as possible. Mei having seen this understood his intentions. He was hoping to keep Yagura from focusing on both of them at once. Naruto launched a volley of explosive kunais only for Yagura to turn his head and release a shock-wave that blew them away. Yagura then swung one of his tails across the ocean creating a tidal wave. The tidal wave easily swept Naruto away momentarily removing him from the fight. Mei began launching more lava globs at Yagura, but they didn't seem to be affecting him. It wasn't till one of the globs hit Yagura in between his shell that he screamed in pain. Mei began aiming at the spots not covered in his shell. Yagura dived down into the ocean making Mei's attack pointless. Yagura reamerged several feet away with a ball of chakra suspended in front of him. He launched the attack the attack at Mei. She had planned to jump away but when the ball split into two she froze. The attacks were almost upon her when two hands grabbed her ankles and yanked her under the water. She watched as the chakra balls passed over her and then turned around to see Naruto. They both jumped out of the ocean applying chakra once more to walk.

"Mei I think I have a way to get him. How long do you think you can distract him." said Naruto

"I'm running low on chakra. I've got maybe five more shots of lava globs and maybe 3 skilled mists left." replied Mei

"I'll only need a moment, but when you hear me tell you to move do so. I'll only have one shot to do this" said Naruto

Mei nodded and ran off tossing a few shurikens that simply bounced off Yagura's body. Yagura then turned to Mei, whipping his tails at her. While this was going on Naruto went through three hand signs and collected a large amount of chakra. Mei was having a difficult time dodging. She shot two more lava globs to make Yagura believe she was fighting serious. Something dropped on her, but she didn't notice. She kept dashing from side to side hoping to keep from being hit. Once again something dropped on her, this time she did notice. She momentarily looked at the black speck on her hand. Confused she looked up and her eyes widened. Unfortunately this had cost her as one of Yagura's tail collided with her torso. The attack knocked the wind out of her and sent her skipping across the ocean. Suddenly it began raining. But the strange thing was that the rain was black. Yagura looked up to see a black cloud as big as his current body releasing the rain. Naruto ran through seven more hand signs and then breathed in a large amount of air.

'I'm really regretting the fact I never learned a lower level jutsu' thought Naruto

"Fire style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet jutsu!" screamed Naruto as he expelled a long dragon shaped flame. The instant the flames connected with Yagura's body, the black rain that covered his body ignited. Yagura screamed as the flames burned his entire body. Satisfied with the results Naruto ran over to where he saw Mei. She was hunched over and breathing hard.

" You ok?" asked Naruto

Mei took a few more long breathes before replying. " Got a few broken ribs. Otherwise I'm OK, that was a neat trick you pulled off."

"Yeah well don't ask me to do it again. It took me a large amount of chakra to create a big enough cloud for the black rain to cover him and even more to use that fire jutsu." said Naruto

"Don't you know a lower level fire jutsu?" asked Mei a little confused.

Naruto shook his head. The flames had begun dying down. Yagura's body was black now and had begun to dissolve. The green chakra resided back into Yagura revealing a horridly burnt man. He could barely apply the chakra needed to keep himself from sinking and standing was impossible. Mei got up and walked over to Yagura, intent on ending it. Naruto had followed behind but didn't plan to do anything. He believed that Mei should be the one to end it, not some foreign ninja.

Yagura seeing the two walk towards him grinned. "So this is what it comes down to. Sorry but i don't like the idea of just letting myself be killed."

He reached for his stomach and began channeling chakra. A confused look crossed Mei's and Naruto's a face.

"Whats he doing, what would channeling chakra to his stom..." fear flooded Naruto " NO DON'T LET HIM FINISH!"

Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it not even bothering to channel any wind chakra to it. Mei not understanding why Naruto became scared still acted and launched her last lava glob.

The attacks weren't fast enough and green chakra burst from Yagura once again. Yagura's body went limp and sunk as the last his chakra left his body. The chakra transformed into the three tailed turtle once more. Naruto began cursing in his mind. The turtle roared and despite the fact he thought it was pointless Naruto prepared to fight it again. As Naruto studied the monster before him something caught his eye, or to be more exact something in the turtles eyes caught his attention.

'Is... is that a ... sharingon?' wondered Naruto.

Mei had just stood there. Having barely enough chakra to stand, she knew the most she could do was stay out of Naruto's way. She noticed Naruto puzzled look. She was about to ask him what was wrong when the three tails turtle just turned from them and swam away. When it was gone Naruto relaxed and turned his attention to Mei.

" That was ... weird."

" Yeah but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the face." said Mei

Naruto noticed Mei had begun to shake from the effort of staying on the ocean. He grabbed her arm and draped it over his shoulder. Mei smiled at the kind jester and leaned on him. Naruto took a moment to stare at the spot that Yagura once occupied. He couldn't understand why he would willingly release his demon. Turning around he made his way back to land.

With Yagura dead and many of the rebels out numbering them the mist ninjas gave up. Naruto had stayed in Kiri and put into a hospital to rest. He hadn't taken much damage from the fight but he hadn't been in a tough fight like that in a long time. He never liked the smell of hospitals, too many cleaning supplies used. But thanks to the fact that his other option was to rent a hotel he decided to enjoy the free room. Why pay money when you don't have to. Besides he still needed to find out who would be the new Mizukage. Karin had been keeping a check on him and kept him company. A couple days later Mei walked in wearing the Mizukage hat. Naruto smiled.

"Figured you'd be made the Mizukage." said Naruto.

Mei laughed at that. " Well it's not like it was easy. I've had to deal with the council and there's still many who are loyal to Yagura's believes."

Naruto stayed silent for a second. " Mei I need you to do something for me."

"And that is?" she asked.

" Don't tell anyone else about me. If you have to tell them a different name like Yori." said Naruto.

" For a moment there i thought you were going to ask for something outrageous. Sure if anyone asks I'll tell them it was Yori. I'll be sure to tell the others to do the same." said Mei.

Naruto thanked Mei. Afterwards they had a long discussion of how the treaty between their two villages should work. They talked about if they should just keep the alliance for trading goods or if they would be assisting each other and how far that should go. In the end they agreed to trade goods the other didn't have and would defend one another during times of war, but would not help the other start a war. After the discussion Naruto told Mei he would be back when his village was up and running to sign the official agreement between their two villages. Before he and Karin left He wished Mei the best.

* * *

**Present time**

Karin continued informing Naruto of some minor problems in the village and how Hot spring country was doing or as it was known now a days as Whirlpool country.

"The Damiyo will be sending us the annual taxes and agreed funds next week. It was a good thing we convinced him to continue running the country after we bought it from him. It's hard enough running this village." said Karin.

Naruto nodded

"Also there's something the Damiyo gave me to give to you. He said a few leaf nins came by and asked him to deliver this to you." Karin pulled out a green scroll from her pack and handed it to him.

Naruto looked at it and saw the leaf insignia on it. He opened it up and began reading it. A soft smile growing on his face.

Dear Uzukage

I have been hearing about your village being rebuilt. At one point in time our villages

were allied and would help one another in times of need. I regret the fact that Konoha

couldn't help during the rule of the first Hokage. I as the fifth Hokage would like to renew

our alliance and would like a chance to meet you. I have sent a team of my fastest ninjas

to meet with you. Please allow them to meet you so that they can confirm your decision

and report back to me.

signed Tsunade Senju

"Karin please send a few of our people to go back to the Damiyoto greet the leaf nins and have them escorted here."

Karin left out the door and did as she was told. Tayuya looked at the letter then to Naruto for a seconded before voicing the nagging thought running through her head.

"Do you really think thats a good idea. What if the people sent recognize you, or me for that matter?" she asked more than a little worried.

" I understand what you mean but there are three things you have to remember. First of all I have been going by the name Yori ever since I left Kiri. Second I look nothing like i used to. My hair, skin, and body is nothing like it was when I left Konoha." Tayuya had to agree with him there. She hated how fast she jumped to conclusions. "And as far as them recognizing you, well as Uzukage I can allow anyone into my village as well as my clan and give them immunity from other villages and such. If they have a problem with you they'll just have to take it up with me and I'll tell them to piss off." said Naruto with a smirk.

She smiled at this. The smart thing to do would be to simply hide her. But no, he simply said he'd defend her. A lot of crap happened over the years, but she didn't regret becoming apart of his clan. Unlike Orochimaru, he treated her like a person. She ran a finger across the flute that proved he was a person worthy of her trust.

" Oh and thanks again for telling me to start calling this village Uzu. It's better than constantly saying the village hidden among the whirling waves." said Naruto.

"Ha dumb-ass as if you had a fucking choice." joked Tayuya

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle.

**The next day**

Naruto was waiting for the leaf ninja to arrive. Tayuya was there as well partly to be there for a good laugh if any of the leaf ninjas did recognize. But mostly in case he needed her. Naruto was curious who Tsunade had sent. She said fastest team she had. But last time he checked Konoha's fastest team. Before he could continue his thoughts a knock on the door let him know that his guest were here. Karin walked through the door and led them in. Naruto felt like planting his face in his desk. He thought it might be them but didn't want it to be.

Before him stood a man that seemed to be beginning his thirties. Had bushy eyebrows and black bowel cut hair. He wore a green spandex body suit. Over that he wore a green Konoha flak jacket. He wore his headband like a belt and wore orange leg warmers above his sandals. His name was Might Guy. Behind him stood three more that looked to be around sixteen to seventeen years old. One was an exact copy except he was obviously much younger and wore bandages from his hands to his forearms. This one was Rock Lee, but everyone just called him Lee and in Naruto's case bushy brow. The guy next to him had long brown hair and white pupil-less eyes. He wore white robe like shirt and pants and some kind of brown... man skirt?

'Why do people in high class clans like the Hyuga wear something like that. If I didn't know better I'd say Neji was trying to dress as a girl.' thought Naruto trying his best to not look at the ... man skirt.

The person next to Neji was Tenten. She had her brown hair up into two buns on the side of her head. She had brown eyes and wore a white long sleeved chinese blouse with a high collar. Her pants were baggy and of a dark shade of red . Hanging horizontally just above her waist she had a giant green scroll with yellow strips at the end behind her.

He couldn't help but gulp. 'Damn just how many weapons are you carrying on you Tenten.'

"Well hello there Uzukage. I Might Guy thank you for seeing us!" he practically yelled.

Naruto had tilted his kage hat so no one would see the unnerved look on his face. He didn't dislike Might Guy, truth be told he respected the man for trying to live life to the fulliest. He just wished the man wasn't so loud sometimes. His upbeat voice didn't help matters. He took hishat off and stood. He held his hand out to shake. Guy walked over to him and shook his hand.

"Please Guy call me Yori. Full name's Yori Uzumaki." said Naruto gauging the reactions of the others.

Guy and his team had raised eyebrows at the name. Lee had been the first to speak.

"Uzumaki? Is there a chance your related to Naruto Uzumaki?" blurted out Lee.

Neji walked up to Lee. " Lee you should know better to show manners in front of a Kage!" scolded Neji.

It took everything Naruto had not to burst out laughing. ' Nice try Neji but I can tell you've activated your eyes. That would be a good idea, but you can't see through something that does not exist. I'm not wearing a disguise nor am i using genjutsu. And luckily thanks to Karin I've learned how to hide the foxes chakra with my own.'

Lee acted out his part of being ashamed rather well. Neji not finding anything deactivated his Byakugan and stood back into place between Lee and Tenten. Guy who had a raised eye at his teams actions looked back at Yori/Naruto.

"What's this about Naruto Uzumaki?" asked Yori/Naruto

Guy scratched the side of his head. "I didn't hear much, but apparently nearly three years ago while he was out on a training trip he went missing. My team was fond of him and especially Lee." he said a little solemnly.

" I see. Too bad, if there was another Uzumaki out there i would really like to meet him or her." said Yori/Naruto looking thoughtful.

Karin was rather amused now. Tayuya was right when she said Naruto couldn't do his truth/lie talk all the time, but he could during some random moments. Naruto had said that it was a skill among many of his other skills that only made itself known when he was being rather mischievous or was about to do something that would highly piss someone off.

' Rather funny to watch someone else fall for it, it' so simple yet effective.' she thought.

"Hmmm. Guy I was wondering why you're current Hokage sent for you to meet me in person. Not that I mind, it's just that sending a letter back would have worked too right?" asked Naruto for once speaking truthfully.

Guy stood straight while he had his hands pretty much planted on his sides. " Well the truth of the matter is that while your village is rather well known, you yourself were more of a rumor. Our Hokage wanted us to see you so she would know how you look for when or if you two meet. She was also curious of how your village is and might i say It Is Most YOUTHFUL."

How he said all that while still being upbeat and energetic had Naruto wondering. He noticed Neji's and Tenten's looks of sympathy. Neji seemed to be more annoyed while Tenten had an accepting look to her face. He decided to return their looks. They had to deal with this day in and out, he just had to deal with it for just today, or so he hoped.

"Thank you Guy and I will be heading out to Konoha in about two weeks. Please do let her know I'll be there to talk about our village possible alliance." said Naruto.

Guy gave him a thumbs up, a wink, and smiled big enough that it looked like it a flash went off. " That we will. Now that that's taken care of me and my team will go, we've got a lot of distanced to cover if we're to deliver this most youthful news to Konoha before the days over.

Lee seemed to take this well and had a determine look so intense that Naruto swore he saw flames. Neji seemed indifferent to this while Tenten looked rather terrified.

"On second thought why not stay in our village for a few days. There's plenty to do here entertainment wise and I'm sure your team would enjoy the various sea-foods we have. Besides whats the point of being **_youthful _**if you rush by it." said Naruto forcing the word youthful.

Guy seemed stunned at this statement. He suddenly slammed his fist into his palm. " Why thank you for bringing that point up my most youthful kage, I'll take you up on your offer."

Naruto didn't know whether he should be grateful that Guy gave him his best complement or whether he should lament on the fact that that would be the best compliment he got from him. As team Guy left Tenten turned around and put her hands together whispered a few thank yous to Naruto. He whispered a 'no problem' back. When Karin knew Team guy had left the building she turned to Naruto.

" So looking forward to your trip back to Konoha, it been three years right?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. " Not sure. I do miss Grandma Tsunade. But at the same time I'm not sure if I'll be able to fool everyone in Konoha."

"Well dumb-ass you fooled them." said Tayuya.

" Then again Neji didn't recognize you and he was there when me and the others chased you and the sound four. Hyuga's for some reason say that their eye's are all seeing then miss small details." pointed out Naruto.

Tayuya simply nodded.

"So who are you taking as body guards." asked Karin.

Naruto shook his head. " I've never understood why the most powerful ninja of a village would need bodyguards. But if I'm going to take someone I'll take you and Katsuo Uesugi."

" Hey dumb-ass I'm not going?" asked Tayuya rather annoyed by the fact.

"Sorry Tayuya I need you here to run the village while I'm gone. And despite the fact that Neji didn't recognize you others might. I'd still defend you but this time it wouldn't be just four people. If word got out that you used to serve Orochimaru the entire village would be trying to kill you." stated Naruto.

Tayuya understood and nodded. Besides she would get to run the village while he was away. A sinister look crossed her face at the thought. Both Naruto and Karin saw this and thought the same thing.

'Those poor bastards'

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed. Please review and let me know what needs to be worked on or what you liked about it.


	3. Chapter 3: Alliances and Regrets

Whirlpool's Rebirth

i do not own naruto, nor do I own the Uesugi clan (they belong to Trife).

Authors note: thanks again for the good reviews and I'm glad to some smart questions. I'm also glad to see reviews from people who read chapter one. It's great that people give possitve reviews but if it's possible please tell me what you like about the story like Melikalily and Illidan the half demon did. There were several things I did in the second chapter that I thought was a good idea but wasn't able to confrim it. Anyhow thanks and enjoy chapter three which I'm surprised is over 15,000 words.

Chapter 3: Alliances and Regrets

A women in a long purple kimono closed with a white obi and had medium black hair walks down a hall, a small pet pig in a red vest and pearls following behind her. She stops when she comes to a set of double doors.

Knocking twice before calling out. " Lady Tsunade I just came to let you know that team Guy has returned from Uzu and will be here shortly..."

"Thank you Shizune... Is there anything else." said Tsunade.

Shizune looks sadly at the door before answering. "No Lady Tsunade."

Shizune understanding she had been dismissed walks away from the doors. On the other side of the doors a women that looks like she's in her thirties, but is nearly twice that age sat behind a desk. She has long blonde hair and light brown eyes. In the middle of her forehead is a blue diamond shape mark. A grass green long sleeved coat with the kanji for gambling on the back of it hangs over her grey sleeveless blouse tied off with a blue obi. Her firm fitting pants were the same color as her obi and stopped just bellow her knees. Her sandals had low heels and were opened toed.

She stared down at the paper work though her thoughts weren't on it. Nearly two years ago Jiriaya had walked through the double doors telling her he had bad news. She instantly knew something was wrong when he began begging her to stay calm even before he told her the news. When he did finally tell her through his stuttering that Naruto had disappeared on the trip it took all her Anbu guards to hold her back from knocking him through the very doors he just walked through. After realizing that she wouldn't get to physically punish him she told him to go back out there and not to return until he had Naruto with him. She went on to tell him if he had other news he better send it via letters or she would break his bones on the spot.

Ever since then she had been in and out of depressions. If it weren't for the combined support of her two apprentices Sakura and Shizune she wouldn't be able to get out of the depressions that had decided to hit her every time she thought about Naruto. After a while the council had her allow Jiriaya back and after a bit more time later it was thought that Naruto had died. Writing him off as dead was one of the worst things she had ever done. Jiriaya had actually been her support that night and had stopped her from dying from alcohol poisoning. After that things had been getting gradually better till Jiriaya's spies had heard numerous rumors that the once ruins of the village hidden among the whirling waves was being rebuilt and the new Uzukage had already made an alliance with the Mizukage Mei Terumi. She couldn't help but think of Naruto again when she heard this and went into another depression.

Jiriaya had tried to send spies there but known had found a way to get in. It seemed that anyone that wanted to get into the village had to be questioned on why they wanted to come live there and such. When Jiriaya's spies tried to get in, there was a knock on the door and their interrogator would leave the room only to come back moments later to tell inform them that due to certain events they wouldn't be allowed on the island. One of Jiriaya's men had tried numerous times to get on the island only for the last time to be followed by a young red haired women and beaten within an inch of his life. He was then told by the women that if he or anymore spies tried to get on the island they would be killed quickly before dumped into a garbage bin.

This had pretty much scared all of Jiriaya's spies and left Jiriaya clueless to the ongoings of Uzu. Slowly the village of Uzu had been becoming more and more prosperous and eventually hot spring village had officially become apart of it. Tsunade remembered reading once that her grandfather had made an alliance between the now proclaimed Uzu and Konoha. Using that as a start she had sent out team Guy in hopes of starting a new alliance and gaining more information on Uzu.

Deciding to grab a quick drink before team Guy arrived she opened a drawer in her desk and took a quick gulp from it, not even bothering to pour it into a glass. A knock at her door let her know to hide her sake.

She took a moment to re-situate herself "Come in."

In walked team Guy followed closely by Shizune. Guy walked up smiling. She took this as a good sign and gave him a signal to report.

"Well Hokage there is most definitely good news. We were not only allowed onto the island but we were met by the Uzukage himself which I believe is a most youthful individual." said Guy in his usual upbeat way.

Tsunade smiled at this. "What can you tell me about him and his village. Also why did you take so long to get back, knowing you I thought you'd be back within the next day.

Guy quite literally flashed a smile. "Well ma'am before I left the Uzukage himself had corrected me on rushing back giving me a good lesson in not wasting one's youth."

"Please tell me he's not like you?" she asked.

A small chorus of chuckles went around before Tenten decided to answer. " No Hokage you don't have to worry about that."

" No he's not like myself. Surprisingly he's rather young for his occupation, no older than my own students. He's just as tall as Lee if I say so. OH Yeah and his name is Yori Uzumaki." said Guy.

Shizune instantly looked towards Tsunade after hearing this. Tsunade just looked at Guy as if she was unsure of what he said. Before she could ask him to repeat himself Guy had continued on.

" Yes the young mans name is Yori Uzumaki. He seemed like a relaxed youth and he does wish for an alliance between our villages." said Guy

Neji at this point had decided to interrupt. " Sir I believe the Hokage wishes to know if there is a connection between Naruto and Yori."

Tsunade looked towards Neji and nodded towards him.

" When we saw the Uzukage he was a long red haired male with pale skin. When he told us his name and Lee blurted out his thoughts I used that to get in front of Lee and activate my byakugan in order to see through a possible genjutsu. Unfortunately he didn't seem to have one." Neji informed.

" What about his personality or any habits he may have." asked Tsunade in hope

It was Tenten that spoke up this time. " Not anything I would relate to Naruto, but he had this way of talking. It was as if he would answer your question but at the same time talk about something else."

The rest of team guy got a puzzled look on their face.

"Really I didn't notice that." said Neji.

" No offense Neji but you tend to focus on what your eye's see more so than what your ears hear. With my weapons i have to focus on everything from how they look to how they sound as I throw them. It was small but it was definitely there. The thing is it might have been nothing more but how he talks." said Tenten.

Neji seemed to understand this. Afterward Guy continued with his report to Hokage on how Uzu was doing economically and that the Uzukage would be coming by in a week and a half. Hearing all she needed to know Tsunade had dismissed Team guy. She pulled out her saki bottle again and took another gulp from it.

* * *

**A week later**

Naruto, Karin and a third man were walking towards the gates of Konoha. The third member of the group was a few years older than Naruto and Karin as it showed in his height, but strangely enough looked just as young as them. His white hair though short was slicked back and his complexion was pale. He had crimson eyes and his face had two red streaks that went from the outer edge of his eye lids then curved to the bottom of his cheeks. The clothing of his choice was a loose fitting chinese kung fu style shirt and pants with black shoes. A white sash wrapped around his waist with a bit of it hanging off to his left side. On the right side of his hip he had a large pack with several medical supplies and on his left was a chinese short sword.

Naruto looked at his medic trying to figure the man out but found that once again he was as calm and passive as he was unreadable. Deciding he would not find out just by analyzing Naruto asked.

"So Katsuo how are you doing. Ok with being my bodyguard."

The mans face never changed. " Lord I have asked you many times to just call me by my clan name Uesugi. And I am honored to be one of your guards."

Naruto chuckled. "And I believe I've told you to simply refer to me as Yori."

Katsuo simply nodded at this request.

They continued walking till they got to the Konoha gates where a chunin leaf nin stood letting a few ninja to leave out on a mission. When the chunin saw a pale face young man walk up in kage robes he had a bewildered look on his face.

"Umm hello Kazekage I wans't notified you'd be coming by." he said.

Naruto snickered at this but Katsuo decided to correct the man. "Sir you are speaking to the Uzukage not the Kazekage. Please notify your Hokage that we are here."

'Is it just me or are the kage just getting younger and younger these days' thought the man as he walked up to a booth before pressing a hidden button. A few seconds later a Anbu had appeared and looked at the scene before him.

"Sir I need you to inform the Hokage that the Uzukage has arrived early" said the chunin.

The Anbu simply nodded his head and disappeared in a swirl of leafs. A few minutes later the Anbu appeared once more looking at the Uzukage.

"Please follow me Uzukage."

Naruto simply did as he was told. As he was walking down the bustling streets he couldn't help but know that many were giving him stares as they use to. But these stares were just looks of curiosity and not the hate filled ones he had gotten when he was younger. He smiled at this and couldn't help but laugh a little when he thought how they would be just as quick to go to their old ways if they knew who he was. Not much had changed about Konoha except Tsunade's face was now among the other faces on the mountain behind the Hokage tower. At one point Karin had to redirected his gaze from his favorite past time restaurant Ichiraku's. It wasn't too long before they had walked into the Hokage tower and brought to a pair of double doors.

The Anbu gave a gentle knock. " Lady Hokage your guest are here."

"Come in." said Tsunade, surprisingly in a more cheerful voice than expected.

The Anbu opened the doors allowing Naruto, Karin, and Katsuo to walk in. Once inside they saw Tsunade behind her desk while her assistant Shizune and Jiriaya stood by both sides of her. Tsunade dismissed the Anbu and quickly went onto formalities.

"It's nice to have you here Uzukage, though we weren't expecting you so soon. I'm the Hokage Tsunade Senju." she said

Naruto walked up to the desk and gave a small bow. " As you already may know I'm Yori Uzumaki, and the pleasure is mine. I decided to come early in hopes of enjoying Konoha a little before I depart."

Jiriaya's eyes narrowed. "Uzumaki? That's a rather uncommon last name seeing as they were supposedly wiped out."

Naruto chuckled at this. He could already see that Jiriaya was suspicious of him, but didn't let it bother him.

" Hmmm sorry sir but I'm rather lousy with names unless I think their important to me."

Jiriaya had gotten the urge to introduce himself as he usually did. But right now he didn't have his usual humor.

"I'm Jiriaya of the Sannin. Don't forget it." he said with a hint of anger laced in.

"I'll try not to, but then again I can't promise." said Yori/Naruto. Humor rolling off of him in waves.

Having had enough Jiriaya got to the point. " Alright are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Naruto? Ah yeah I do believe the team you sent had mentioned him. I'm sorry for your loss." said Naruto with sympathy in his voice.

Tsunade just shook her head trying not to think about it and thanked him.

Jiriaya on the other hand repeated himself. "Answer the question. Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto kept a sly grin from crossing his face. " Well Jiriaya I'll answer your question with another question."

He reached up and pulled his kage hat off. " Do I look like Naruto Uzumaki to you?"

Jiriaya immediately shut up as the others looked at him. The person before them did seem to share Naruto's face but the rest of him were his own. Jiriaya had begun trying to think of several ways he could continue with his questions but stopped once Tsunade sent him a glare warning him to keep his mouth shut. It took a lot of control on Karin's part not to burst out laughing and even Katsuo's was barely holding his lips from quivering. Karin loved it when her brother did this. It was bad enough when he did it to the team Guy, but these two were LEGENDS and he was still fooling them, or at least on of them while the other had no way to prove his suspicions.

"I'm sorry for his barrage of questions. It was not why I had asked you to come here." said Tsunade apologetically.

"It's no problem at all Tsunade, but now onto why I'm here. As you had mentioned in your letter you are interested in renewing an alliance between our two villages." said Yori/Naruto.

Tsunade nodded at this and they began the back and forth of politics on how their alliance would work. It would be several hours later when they would end their discussion and wait till the next day to continue.

* * *

Naruto had been walking along the parks of Konoha. It was his third day being in Konoha and the "negotiations" were still going on. Every time He had made a request on the alliance Tsunade would have to hold a council meeting to have each of the members have a look at it. As he walked through the park he could feel the eye's of several Anbu on him. But this did not bother him, He had fully expected it. What he did not expect was the sight before him. Some ways ahead was a sixteen year old girl with long long dark blue hair with bangs that framed her face. Her skin was fair and her eyes were pupil-less and white with a small hint of lavender in them. She wore a zip up lavender hoodie with beige sleeves and a fishnet shirt underneath. Naruto had to do a double take at her torso before continuing his observation.

'If she's wearing that in hopes of hiding her figure she's failing miserably.' he thought as he took notice of her figure.

He noticed that she wore pants similar to Tsunade except not as tight and had on the usual ninja sandals. The thing that really caught his eye's was the orange leaf head band tied around her neck. Looking closely he noticed she stood before a lone head stone and was placing orange lily's in front of them. He decided to give her a moment of privacy before feeding his curiosity.

As he walked forward he did nothing to hide his presence. She turned around and when she saw his robes instantly bowed to him.

" There's no need to bow, I'm simply a guest here. I'm Yori by the way, Yori Uzumaki." he said.

Her eye's went wide before she replied in a soft voice. " I-I'm Hinata Hyuga. It's a pl-pleasure to meet you."

Naruto's eyes went wide at hearing this. He remembered her from the academy and the chunin exams. Back then she had been in a tough spot and he encouraged her on. Later on she returned the favor by lifting his spirit when he was unsure of himself. Taking himself from memory lane he looked towards the headstone only for his eyes to go wide once more. His name or old name depending on how you thought about it was etched into the stone. He had to take a moment to compose himself.

"I had heard he went missing but I didn't think they thought he was dead. I take it he was important to you." said Yori/Naruto.

Hinata nodded sadly. "Very." she said with a voice that hinted out a lot more then the word could convey.

Naruto felt more than a little tinge of guilt. When he decided not to return to Konoha he did so thinking he wouldn't be missed. To know he had unintentionally hurt some with his disappearance did not sit right with him, but the thought that someone would lay flowers for him warmed his heart.

The thought of the flowers brought another thought to him. " If you don't mind me asking. Why orange lilies."

A soft smile and a small blush spread across her face. " Back when we were younger his favorite color was orange. And I didn't know if he had a preferred flower so I decided to put one of my favorite flowers instead.

" Your head band's color? Is it for a similiar reason?" Yori/Naruto asked.

" U-um not e-exactly. I decided to wear it for a more p-personal reason. As a reminder of him and the things he did for me" she answered her blush beginning to cover her face.

Naruto was silently thanking his kage hat for shadowing most of his face and hiding the blush he couldn't. They stood there for a few moments in silence.

" I really haven't had much time here. Is there any chance you would be willing to be my guide." said Yori/Naruto hoping to prolong his time with Hinata.

Not trusting her voice at the time she simply nodded her head and they began leaving the park. Hinata had lead him all over Konoha showing him important areas such as the monument and the clan districts while not revealing too much about them. At one point she had commented on how it would be nice to grab a bite to eat and Naruto agreed. He nearly drooled when they walked up to Ichiraku's and practically cried when they passed by it. It was bad enough to see the ramen stand, but to smell of the food as they passed by was murder. He had decided he would throw caution to the wind later on and at least get a bowel before he left, but in the meantime he followed Hinata to another restaurant he wasn't familiar with. After some time Naruto discovered that Hinata was rather nice and relaxing to be around. Something that had him lament on the fact that he didn't know much about Hinata and began asking her questions about herself. Such things as her likes, dislikes, dreams, and so on.

A blush crossed her face. "I-I like Cinnamon rolls, pressing flowers, and." she took a moment to look at her head band, she looked more so at the color than the metal plate, A fact that Naruto barely caught.

'Alright so either she likes her village or me... and who the hell do I think I'm kidding.' he thought.

"I'm not really competitive and shell fish doesn't taste good to me." she continued on.

Naruto nodded at this, despite being on a island that had plenty of sea-foods he wasn't that great of a fan either.

" A-As far as my dreams... I'm not so sure now." she finished as they left the restaurant.

Naruto stopped walking at this. " What do you mean. What caused you to be unsure."

Hinata took a moment to think, but as she was going to answer a Hyuga branch member walked up

" Lady Hinata your father wishes to see you."

" I'll be there shortly" she replied.

She turned her attention back to Yori/Naruto. " I'm sorry but I must be going now." she said as she gave a slight bow.

" No problem at all. We'll have to continue this later." he replied returning her bow.

He looked at the sky and the position of the sun. 'Guess I have to be heading to the Hokage tower anyway.'

As he made his way towards the tower he couldn't help but think of all he and Hinata talked about. The image of his _grave _and the flowers she had laid for him ran through his head.

' Had I known about her maybe I would have stayed, but I can't just leave in the middle of all this.' he thought rather sadly.

It didn't take him long before he found himself in front of the familiar double doors. He gave a quick knock and went in after Tsunade welcomed him in. He looked around the room and was glad to see that the Toad Sage was no where to be seen. Right now he wasn't in the mood for Jiriaya's crap. Despite that many believed he was stupid when he was young ( and even he would agree looking back), even back then he had a keen eye. He had noticed signs of Tsunade being depressed. She no longer bothered putting her hair in her twin pony tail style, the smell of sake was evident on her despite Shizune's attempt to cover it up with perfume, and despite her genjutsu she seemed to look older than she intended. These were minor things but there were too many of them to really hide. He had connected it to his disappearance, but was puzzled by how bad she seemed to be reacting to it. But all of this made since when he saw the headstone erected for him. She didn't just think he was missing she thought he was dead. And then there was Hinata. Someone who he could quite easily refer to as an acquaintance when he was younger. He knew very little of her back then but even he knew that she wanted to become the Heiress of her clan and get rid of the seal placed upon the Hyuga branch members. But now she seemed unsure of what she wanted now and he couldn't help but think his _death_ had something to do with it.

He shook these thoughts from his head. As much as he wanted to he couldn't make things right. At least not at the moment. He sat in the chair Tsunade had prepared for him and they once more began their negotiations. Only a couple minutes later someone burst through the door.

" Lady Tsunade I'm sorry to interupt but Suna just sent us a letter. Their Kazekage has just been kidnapped by Akatsuki!"

Both Tsunade's and Naruto's eyes went wide at this.

" I'm sorry Yori but we will have to cut this meeting short today." said Tsunade

Yori/Naruto held up a hand. " It's quite alright Tsunade, I understand full well." he said as he excused himself.

After exiting the Hokage tower Naruto made a bee line for the hotel he was staying at and just hoped that both Karin and Katsuo were there. When he got there only Karin was there.

"Karin do you know where Katsuo is." he asked

Sensing the seriousness in his voice Karin began scanning the area. " He's not far from here. A few blocks east."

"Please go and get him, I'll pack our bags in the meantime." he said

Karin straightened up at this. "Whats going on, has Kono." she asked but was cut off before she could finish

" I'll explain later after we leave Konoha, we'll be back later but we need to leave now."

She nodded at this and ran off. Shortly later she returned with Katsuo to find their bags packed and Naruto no longer wearing the second layer of his kage robe. They grabbed their bags and quickly followed him. Naruto only stopped to tell an Anbu to inform the Hokage that he was heading to Suna but would return shortly to finish the negotiations. Once outside of Konoha they sped off to the direction of wind country.

Katsuo was the first to talk. "Sir, why are we heading for Suna?"

" Their Kazekage just got kidnapped by Akatsuki." Naruto replied

Katsuo thought about it for a sec. " If you don't mind sir, but why does this concern us?"

Karin wanted to hit Katsuo over the head but remembered that he didn't know about Naruto's burden. Very few did.

" Their Kazekage and I can sympathize with one another due to a certain event. Also if we save him we may gain yet another ally." said Naruto

" That makes sense sir, I'll help anyway I can." said Katsuo

Naruto nodded his head.

"Yori there's a chakra signature up ahead. She's a wind user." warned Karin

" I think I know who she is." said Naruto as he sped off.

Naruto spotted the women in question and sure enough it was Temari. She still had her sandy blonde hair up in four spiky ponytails and her giant fan strapped to her back. But now she wore a long black battle kimono and a red sash wrapped around her waist.

"Your a sand kunoichi right." stated Naruto.

Temari looked at the new arrival with suspicion. " Well what if I am?"

" You might want to move faster then, Konoha just got a message from your village. They say Akatsuki has kidnapped the Kazekage." said Naruto.

Panic spread across Temari's face. " Garra's been kidnapped!"

She took off instantly after finishing her sentence and Naruto, Karin, and Katsuo quickly followed. Seeing that she had company Temari decided to get acquainted with her new traveling companions and get some much needed answers. She didn't trust them and everything she learned as a ninja was screaming at her to lose them. Only reason she didn't ditch them right now was because she had more pressing issues.

" You say Konoha was the one to recieve the message, but your headbands aren't leaf." she stated.

Naruto was going to answer but Katsuo spoke his mind. " My patience for your disrespect of my lord runs thin sand nin." he stated rather coldly.

"Whats he the lord of and why should I care." retorted Temari

Surprisingly it was Karin who responded. " He's the Uzukage and you should care cause he decided to put his negotiations in Konoha on hold to help your Kazekage!"

Temari's face was shocked at first but then turned to regret. " I'm sorry, I didn't know who you were and I wasn't given very good news along with it."

Naruto simply shook his head. " It's ok, right now though we need to get to Suna and figure out where to go from there."

Temari seemed to lighten up at that. "My names Temari by the way."

" The guy in the red is Katsuo, girl with the red hair is my sister Karin. And I'm Yori." replied Naruto.

Karin seemed a little miffed with how she was introduced while Katsuo didn't seem to mind. They continued a ways on in peace simply trying to get to Suna.

Karin sensed something once more. " Yori we have 5 more chakra signatures behind us, one of them is definately Jonin level while the others feel mid chunin."

"Their probably a team of leaf nins sent as a reply to Suna's message." said Naruto

" Shouldn't we wait for them then?" asked Temari.

Yori/Naruto shook his head. " It'll take us two to three days to reach Suna from here. If they catch up with us that's fine but with the fact that Akatsuki has the Kazekage I don't really plan on giving them anymore time to do as they want."

Temari nodded at this. Her main concern was to get back home as soon as possible. She only asked out of courtesy.

* * *

**Two days later**

Thanks to Temari, getting into Suna was easier once she explained things. As soon as they got in however they had been rushed off to the hospital where Temari's brother Kankuro lay in bed poisoned. He had brown messy hair and average build. He wasn't really dressed in anything and no long wore his face paint. Temari and a group of doctors looked over him in hopes of curing him, though Temari simply sat back and watched worrying.

" Hey Katsuo any chance you can do something about this." asked Yori/Naruto

Katsuo walked over to Kankuro and began studying him, checking his pulse, looking for any physical anomalies, and asking the other doctors how the poison seemed to be affecting him. Afterwards Katsuo grabbed a syringe and withdrew some of his own blood. He pulled a scalpel from his backpack and made a small incision before injecting Kankuro with his blood. Many of the doctors began protesting and some had tried to remove Katsuo from the scene only to received a glare from said man promising intense pain if they got in his way.

"Everyone give him some space." said Yori/Naruto.

Temari didn't know what to make of the situation and the doctors began bickering at him of how unsanitary this was and other such complaints.

Having heard enough Yori/Naruto began explaining. " His clan has this nifty ability to control their blood. Give him a chance to help Kankuro, besides it not like you guys were curing him any better.

Katsuo momentarily turned to Naruto and gave him a small nod in thanks before turning back to Kankuro. After a minute of waiting He grabbed a vial and placed it next to the incision he made on Kankuro moments ago just in time for a purple liquid to pour into it. He immediately began analyzing it. Afterwards he approached Temari.

He shook his head. " I'm sorry but this is beyond my ability to cure, I can make a serum that will halt the poisons process but this will only buy him time for so long."

Temari nodded her head at this as Katsuo turned back and began working on the serum. Not wanting to distract Katsuo, Naruto kept his mouth shut.

Karin looked towards Naruto. " I thought you should know that the leaf nins are here."

"Thanks Karin, I'll go and see who all Konoha sent." whispered Naruto

He left the room and made his way out of the hospital. Down the roads a few blocks were four men and one women. He decided to meet them halfway and fill them in on what he knew so far. Oddly enough he knew all of them or at least met them before. He smiled as he saw Hinata and she smiled back recognizing him.

" Well hello Hinata, fancy meeting you way out here." said Yori/Naruto.

" It is n-nice to see you once more Uzukage." replied Hinata.

This comment caused the others to take noticed of the long red haired youth before them.

"Hinata there's no need to refer to me by my title, I prefer people I know to just call me by my name." said Yori/ Naruto acting a little depressed

" I'm sorry Y-Yori." Hinata apologized.

Yori/Naruto just shook his head, 'She didn't have to apologize but oh well, I guess that's just the way she is.'

Yori/Naruto turned his attention to the others taking in the changes time made on his old team and acquaintances. Kakashi looked the same, He still wore his mask and covered his right eye with his headband. He still wore the basic jonin outfit which consisted of the regular long sleeved dark blue shirt and pants. And his grey hair still seemed to defy gravity. Yori/Naruto looked next to Kakashi at the pink medium haired girl wearing a red zip up shirt and black shorts with a pink apron like skirt over it. She had black gloves on and black low heel boots that went up to her knees. He instantly remembered her. How could he not remembered his childhood crush. But looking at her now he couldn't help but feel bad for her.

'Damn Sakura, puberty pretty much left you behind' he thought as he studied her body.

It's not that he didn't think she had grown or that she was no longer attractive, but when compared to many of the other girls he couldn't help but feel she had been cheated.

He looked over to Hinata's team. 'What... the... hell'

He could have sworn that Kiba and Shino had joined a gang because with the way they were dressed it seemed likely. Kiba wore a leather jacket with matching pants. He still had his short brown hair and feral looks. On his face were his families markings which consisted of two fang marks on his cheeks. While Kiba's look screamed biker gang, Shino's seemed to say drug dealer as he wore two different jackets effectively covering his face from view. The first jacket was a long black one that reach his knees while at the same time had a high collar that covered half of his face. The second was a olive hoodie that hung over the rest of his head. What little could be seen of his face were hidden behind sunglasses. Other than that he wore black pants and sandals. He understood that Shino's clan wore clothes that covered much of their body due to the fact they specialized on using bugs that they hid inside of them, but this just seemed to be taking things a bit too far.

Deciding to get the introductions out of the way he allowed them to introduce themselves or as he liked to think reintroduce themselves.

After they were done he decided to fill them in. " I'm Yori Uzumaki" He saw their shocked looks." and before you even begin, I am not Naruto Uzumaki although I may be related to him." Luckily this seemed to help but Kakashi still had a suspicious look in his eye. " As you know the Kazekage has been kidnapped by Akatsuki but the only eye witness to where they've gone has been poisoned and there's not much we can do about it."

Having heard this Sakura spoke up. " Let me have a look. I might be able to help."

Hearing this they all headed back up to the hospital. Once inside some old women in a black robe named Chiyo called Kakashi the white fang and proceeded to attack him. Yori/Naruto did nothing to stop her going so far as to step out of the way for her and it was Chiyo's brother who decided to intervene letting her know that the white fang was already dead. Chiyo simply played this off as acting stupid and walked over to Sakura observing her work. Sakura had then asked the others to leave the room.

Before leaving Yori/Naruto walked over to Katsuo. "Stay in here and observe what she does. It could be useful."

Katsuo gave a firm nod accepting the order. Yori/Naruto then proceeded to walk out with the others into the waiting room

With everything settling down Hinata walked over to Yori/Naruto and stood beside him.

" T-That wasn't very nice letting her a-attack Hatake like that." said Hinata playfully.

Yori/Naruto rolled his eye's. " I guess breaking an aged women's wrist would have been better." he joked back.

Hinata just shook her head. " Well n-no but." not finding the words she just smiled.

"I guess I could have deterred her for scarecrow."

Hinata tried to stifle a giggle at his joke towards Kakashi, who sat in the corner with his lone eyebrow twitching. Obviously he wasn't amused from Yori/Naruto's play of words using his name. Kakashi having seen a moment to approach Yori/Naruto did so.

"If you don't mind Yori I would like to ask you a few questions."

Yori/Naruto just simply nodded at him to do so.

" When you were traveling here did you ever notice we were following you?" said Kakashi, his lone eye indicating a fake smile.

Yori/Naruto could already see where this was going. " Yes I did."

" Hmmmm then why didn't you wait for us?" asked Kakashi letting a little bit of annoyance slip while holding the same look.

Yori/Naruto's sly smile had Kakashi worried. "Well mister Hatake considering this is Akatsuki we're talking about and as I said to Temari I didn't want to give them anymore time than they already had and luckily Temari agreed."

Kakashi's eye let it's annoyance show. ' He's not saying it but he practically forced us to run longer in hopes of catching up with him, and he's using a valid reason to hide his real intention.'

Though Naruto wanted to return to his conversation with Hinata, he knew he didn't have the luxury at the moment thanks to the fact that saving Gaara was his main concern.

He ended the conversation and walked over to a sand nin. " Is there any evidence from his battle." said Yori/Naruto pointing towards Kankuro.

The sand nin gave a few seconds to think before pointing to a room telling him of the broken puppets.

" Hey sis I need you to follow me for a second." he said waving Karin to his direction.

Karin turned towards him and followed, Naruto turned to look glad that Kakashi or the others didn't follow. Inside were three sets of tables with multiple broken puppet pieces strewn across them. Naruto began observing some of the pieces before turning to Karin.

"Can you sense any chakra that's out of place."

She looked at the pieces intently her brow furrowing as she concentrated. Her eyes scanned across the tables multiple times till she stopped upon one particular piece. Walking over to a broken arm she picked it up. She looked at the fist before trying to pry it open. When she finally did a small piece of cloth fell out. Picking it up she held it out to Yori/Naruto.

"I'm sorry but this is all I could find."

" Come on sis don't worry about it, can you track the chakra off of it?" said Yori/Naruto cheerfully.

"... Yeah. It's weak but I'll definately be able to follow it." she said.

" Alright good. Do you need this cloth?" He asked.

Shaking her head. " No luckily this chakra signature is rather unique. I guess all Akatsuki members have strange and powerful chakra."

Hearing that Naruto picked up the puppet arm and re-secured the cloth into it's grasp. Once returning to the waiting room he already saw Kakashi raising an eyebrow at him.

"You might want to check it out." said Yori/Naruto before questions could be asked.

Understanding this as a don't bother me right now the leaf nins let him be. A few minutes later Katsuo and Sakura walked out of the operation room. Sakura began explaining that Kankuro would be ok but that she still need to create an antidote.

Katsuo walked over to his Uzukage. " She is indeed skilled, I may be able to copy her technique."

Yori/Naruto nodded at this and gave Karin and Katsuo a sign to follow him. With the leaf nins and Temari listening to Sakura's diagnosis, none saw as the whirlpool nins left. It didn't take long to walk to the entrance to the village.

"Yori are you sure you want to head out now, maybe we should rest a bit before we try to track them down." said Karin, apparently worried over him.

Yori/Naruto was indeed tired, keeping a good distance from the leaf nin did indeed have a price. He looked at the two of them. Karin didn't look too tired, but Katsuo looked as tired as him. Then again that was simply because of what they both did to keep ahead of the leaf nin. ' Kakashi you persistent bastard'. In order to keep ahead of Kakashi, Naruto had carried Karin on his back while Katsuo did the same with Temari. Of course when the two woke up and found themselves being carried there were a few rather physical protests. 'Poor Katsuo, I'll have to pay him double when we get back'

"My lord, I can continue on if needed, but I do share in Lady Karen's concern for you." said Katsuo

Karen blushed from the title Katsuo dubbed onto her. Though the Uzumaki clan were considered royalty by many of the clans in Uzu she didn't expect to be treated as such, especially when one thought about it she was only adopted into the family. Naruto on the other-hand was thinking on what to do.

" I don't want to give the trail a chance to disappear. On top of that, If we wait to leave later the leaf nin will try and leave with us. It's not that I want the glory to ourselves, it's just that as a small group we're less likely to be spotted or run into traps." said Naruto though his fatigue was evident.

Katsuo closed his eyes in thought. " I understand. with Lady Karin's sensory ability we'll be able to avoid any possible scouts or ambushes. If the leaf nins followed us we would be more than likely spotted despite our advantage and thus slowed down."

" Yeah I guess I understand but whats the point if you just fall over when we get their." said Karen still trying to convince him to rest first.

Naruto smiled at Karin. " Thanks Karin, but it's ok. We'll rest once we get closer to the Akatsuki's trail. I really am concerned about that trail disappearing. It's not called wind country for nothing."

Realizing that she wouldn't get a better comprimise she simply nodded and smiled at this. She then stretched out her senses and began following the faint trail. They traveled for several hours only to find out they had been lead into river country. Deciding that they had traveled long enough, Karin stopped.

"Alright this is far enough." she said

Naruto looked like he was preparing to continue on but the look Karin gave him pretty much kept him in place.

"Look I know you could probably go on but we need to stop. The chakra trail has gotten stronger and we need to rest before we risk getting spotted and having a fight on our hands." stated Karin putting her foot down on the subject.

Naruto simply nodded, too tired to argue back. Besides he could see it was getting dark.

* * *

**The next day somewhere nearby**

Kakashi was annoyed and everyone could tell by how his lone eyebrow just couldn't seem to stay calm. Once again they were forced to follow the traveling speed the Uzukage had set for them. He didn't dislike following someone else's lead. But at the same time he preferred to move at a relaxed tempo. The way the Uzukage had left was rather reckless if he could say so. It didn't help when Kankuro had gotten well enough to tell them about a piece of cloth he had managed to get off of one of the Akatsuki, this wouldn't have bothered him if it weren't for the fact that it was apparent that Yori had already found it and had left several hours ago. After watching Yori and Hinata seemingly get along Kakashi had hoped he would decide to join them.

**Back with Yori/Naruto**

Naruto had woken up feeling refreshed. Karin had him take the first watch saying that it would allow him to get a full nights rest afterwards. He was now glad he did. They began following the chakra trail once more. With Karin's help they had avoided multiple chakra signatures. Karen had commented that it was strange how they all seemed to be the same person yet weren't clones. Naruto had decided to not bother with it. A few hours later Karen made a dead stop and Naruto and Katsuo did so too.

"Karin what is it?" Naruto asked.

" There's an ambush up ahead, I'm tired of trying to figure out their chakra, but once again it feels strange. Almost as if it's hollow."

Katsuo had a troubled look on his face. " Do you think our enemy has spotted us?"

Karin shook her head at this. "No, the person ahead of us is prepared to fight but he isn't focused on us."

"Most likely Kakashi and the others were spotted by one of those random guys back there. Karin how strong is the guy ahead of us?" asked Naruto.

" His chakra is potent and very powerful." she began.

" I'm sensing a but here." stated Naruto

Karin nodded at this. "But like I said earlier it feels hollow, as if it's incomplete."

"Do you think the leaf nins could handle him?" asked Naruto.

Karin gave a firm nod.

"Then we'll just go around him. I don't like this. Akatsuki are suppose to travel in pairs, why only send one member?" wondered Naruto out loud.

"Perhaps this is nothing more than a diversion to buy time. It is their misfortune that we have Lady Karin here." said Katsuo.

"Yeah. Crap like this just doesn't work when we have someone like Karin here." added Naruto.

Karin began blushing at the praise she was getting. They began traveling once more, nimbly going around the ambush. About thirty minutes later they heard the distinct sound of fighting going on behind them. Already too far to turn back they continued on.

**Five hours later In front of the Akatsuki hideout.**

They stood before a giant boulder blocking the way into the base. On it was a paper seal tag on it. Karin was focusing on the different chakra's inside.

She began getting annoyed. " It's official, I hate the Akatsuki. There are several chakra signatures in there focusing on a jutsu, but only four truly exist."

Karin began to focus harder on the four specific signatures. " Two of them are helping power the jutsu. while the other two" she shuddered. " while the other two are being ripped away from one another."

Naruto stared at the seal on the boulder. " I recognize that seal from one of the Uzumaki books."

"I'm guessing it's some sort of barrier seal. Another attempt at a diversion. " said Katsuo rather annoyed.

"Pretty much. In order to take it down we'll need to go and find the other four seals hidden around and pull them off at the same time." added Naruto.

Karin let out a long sigh." Give me a sec, I'll try to.."

"No need. I'm done playing by their rules and I'm done with their diversions." Naruto interrupted

Karin and Katsuo looked at Naruto, wondering what he had planned.

Naruto's eyes scanned the area. There was a river that ran across the entrance to the cave. Plenty of trees around and the mountain around the cave didn't look to tough.

" Alright I want you two to go downstream of the the river a good ways and wait for me while I get Gaara and make my way to you."

"Sir what if you need assistance getting Gaara or your forced to fight them?" asked Katsuo.

The snicker that emanated from Naruto sent chills up Karin's and Katsuo'sspines. They had heard him snicker like this on a rare few occasions, but every time someones day went to hell no matter how good it was going.

"Ooooh with what I have planned I doubt they'll be able to do much." said Naruto grinning the entire time.

Both Karin and Katsuo decided to just head on down the river and wait for Naruto.

When Naruto felt ready he formed the seals for his shadow clones and created six giving each clone a rather large amount of chakra. He nodded towards one of his clones, signaling him to begin. With out being told what to do the clone ran through a long series of hand signs. Once finished, the river before them seems to start bubbling. Soon after a water dragon bullet rised from the river, steam flowing off of it giving it an aura like appearance before it flied right into the side the mountain. Going right through the mountain the acidic dragon bullet continues on smashing into a strange statue that had been projecting a phantom like energy that had been surrounding Gaara. The statue had instantly been destroyed by it and the demonic chakra in it rushed back to Gaara before dropping him to the floor. Naruto not missing a beat jumped through the hole and grabs Gaara before exiting once more. The two Akatsuki members only shocked for a moment tried to chase after Naruto only to jump to the side to avoid a long torrent of flames. On the outside of the cave two of Naruto's clone's kept the entrance inaccessible. One was spewing a long flame from his mouth while another breathed out gusts of wind, empowering the flames to greater lengths. Naruto while having Gaara slung over his shoulders only took a moment to marvel over how much more proficient he had gotten with his clones over the year. He then applied chakra to his feet that allowed him to jet down the river as if he were skying across the water. It didn't make him blindingly fast, but it was faster than him running. His clones would only be able to keep the Akatsuki members busy for so long and he needed to buy as much time as he could.

**With Karin and Katsuo**

It wasn't much longer after Karin had sensed a large spike of chakra that she and Katsuo saw Naruto jetting down the river towards them. The second he saw them he jumped off the river and place a male teen with short red hair on the ground. His face looked cracked all over and had the kanji for love etched onto the right side of his forehead. He wore a long dark red coat with a grey vest over it and black pants.

"Katsuo I need you to heal him as much as possible before they catch up." said Naruto sending random glances back to where he came from.

Katsuonot needing to be told twice instantly began working on him. Trying to heal him and put him into a better shape than he was. Karin kept looking out for any Akatsuki member's chakra, but soon found out it wasn't necessary.

"Shit. That scorpion guy just fillet my last clone. How much longer before you can have Gaara ready to fight?" asked Naruto

" His injuries were not really severe, but having the Kazekage able to fight is another story." said Katsuo

Naruto thought for a minute. "Is there any way you can make him."

Katsuo looked at Gaara. " If I gave him an adrenaline shot and a few other things then maybe it would force him to wake, but it would still take time to before the affects would begin."

Naruto sifted through his clones memories looking for anything that could help with their current predicament. Karin having sensed them closing in warned them.

" Alright do it. Karin I want you to work on Gaara and keep him out of harms way. Katsuo I need you to fight one of them, with any luck Gaara won't take too long to wake up and help you fight him. I'll get the others attention and lead him away." Naruto ordered.

Karin began carrying Gaara away to a hiding spot out of the way. Katsuo nodded, a fierce look of determination in his eyes. He drew his sword and prepared to fight. Naruto created another shadow clone and had it transform into an exact copy of Gaara before slinging it over his shoulder just as he did Gaara moments ago.

It wasn't much longer before the Akatsuki members came into view. The first one was a long haired blonde that was riding on a clay bird. His hair had been put into a ponytail with one the his bangs covering his left eye. Looking closely Naruto noticed that the man's left arm was crushed. He smirked at this. The other was a rather large and short guy. His hair seemed to be put into a weird style, segment into different rows while pulled back into a small ponytail. His skin was rather dark and he wore a cloth over his face.

Naruto looked a little closer to notice a small piece was missing. ' I guess that's where Kankuro got it from.'

The man on the bird seemed rather annoyed " Well it looks like we caught up with them my man Sasori, hn"

Sasori didn't answer. Whether it was from annoyance or simply cause he didn't care, Naruto couldn't tell. Deciding to get on with the plan Naruto ran to the river jumping over the tail like blade Sasori had used trying to impale him in the process. As soon as his feet hit the water he jetted down stream once more. The blonde Akatsuki directed his bird after him and Sasori tried to follow only for Katsuo to block his path.

"I guess I'll have to deal with you before I join Deidara in the chase." said Sasori waving his scorpion tail back and forth poised to strike.

Katsuo simply stared down Sasori with his sword drawn and ready to attack.

**With Naruto and Deidara**

Naruto had been busy dodging the small explosive birds Deidara kept throwing his way. This was a harder task than one would think. Due to the fact that Naruto's water skying technique was lousy at turning, add to the fact that he was carrying a supposedly unconscious Kazekage on his shoulders didn't seem to make dodging the mini bombs any easier. Once Naruto felt he was a good distance away he dispeled his clone.

Having seen this Deidara got the message." That was nothing but a fake, yeah."

Naruto ran through a few one handed hand seals. Once he was finished, the water that was being kicked up from Naruto formed into ice needles and launched themselves to Deidara. Seeing this he simply redirected his bird to fly around the barrage. The bird did have some needles stuck into it, but otherwise remained unharmed.

'Shit, I figured as much. As long as he's in the air long ranged attacks aren't going to do me much good.' thought Naruto.

Deidara forced Naruto back to being evasive once more by sending his improved double winged bird bombs. Naruto sped along the water once more, criss crossing to keep from being an easy target.

**Back to Katsuo and Sasori**

Katsuo had been deflecting Sasori's tail the entire time striking back at it to knock it way. What the large Akatsuki hadn't realized was that Katsuo had been aiming for one specific joint in the tail. He stuck once more only this time the tail had been broken off. Using his surprise Katsuo dashed towards Sasori. He cut his own palm and sprayed blood all over his opponent, jumping back just in time to dodge a barrage of needles shot from Sasori's mouth. The blood on Sasori began corroding his body and the scorpion like man's back opened up as a short red haired male jumped out of the body. Katsuo simply watched the young man pull off remnants of the now confirmed puppet's cloak.

" So you were able to destroy Hiruko, then again for one of the Uesugi clan I guess it's rather expected." said Sasori

"Your familiar with my clan?" asked Katsuo raising an eyebrow.

" I've fought a few of you before, it's a shame that none of your clansmen could be converted into my human puppets." stated Sasori.

Katsuo chuckled at this. " Our jutsu's are rather pointless without our blood, something you take out when making your... _puppets._"

Sasori narrowed his eyes at Katsuo before unraveling a scroll. A puff of smoke came from the scroll and dissipated to reveal a puppet wearing a brown cloak nearly covering all of it. It's eyes were yellow and it had blue spiky medium length hair. The puppet seemed to click here or there as it began to move.

"Your clan is impressive, but many of your clansmen fell to my favorite puppet." said Sasori sending the puppet flying towards Katsuo.

Katsuo side stepped the puppet as it went to decapitate him with a hidden buzz-saw in it's left arm. He immediately aimed to slash it in half only for his blade to stop inches from the puppet's body. His hands shook from the effort of trying to move his sword, but found it stuck. The puppet went to slash at him once more. Seeing this Katsuo abandoned his blade and leaped back. He wasn't fast enough and received a shallow gash across his chest. Sasori had a smirk on his face sure that his poison would kick in. Katsuo felt the poison and immediately began pushing the infected blood from his body. The puppet user watched in fascination as purple blood began bleeding from Katsuo's wound until it turned back into a healthy red and stopped all together.

"So my poison is pointless on you. I guess I was too overconfident in the fact that your clansmen died from it." said Sasori

Katsuo wiped away the infected blood. "I became a medic to further understand our unique ability. You won't kill me so easily."

"Noted. I won't make the same mistake twice." replied Sasori before sending a signal for his puppet to come back to him.

Afterwards the puppet opened it's mouth releasing a pool of iron sand. Katsuo watched on focusing mostly on the substance. His eye's widened when he saw that the sand slowly began to move as if it were alive.

"Your probably wandering how my puppet can control the sand. Well it's thanks to the man this puppet used to be. He had this unique ability of using magnetism." said Sasori.

'That explains what happened with my sword. As long as he has that puppet any metallic object is useless against him.' said Katsuo.

He reached into his medical bag and popped a blood pill into his mouth. He then began pushing blood from the cut in his hand and shaped it into a whip. Small droplets fell off of it and burned the ground.

Sasori looked on once again interested. " Now that I think about it, I don't remember any other Uesugi having acidic blood."

"As I said, I became a medic to better understand my clan's ability. Once I learned more about blood it was only a matter of learning to manipulate my blood on a chemical level." said Katsuo brandishing his whip.

He swung his whip at Sasori just for a wall of iron sand to block it. The iron wall had save Sasori from the whip but was being corroded by the blood left on it. Sasori quickly got rid of the blood covered sand and began commanding his puppet to send it's sand to attack. The puppet sent several lumps of iron after Katsuo, who had began attacking the projectiles. Katsuo found that his attack wasn't corroding the iron quick enough and began dodging to the side.

**With Naruto and Deidara**

Naruto was still dodging the explosive birds, but had begun understanding his opponent more and more.

'He's a long range explosive fighter, well that's obvious. Any chance I have of fighting him long range is gone thanks to his manueverability on that damn bird of his. Getting closer to him is easier said than done thanks once again to his bird. The only good thing is that he can only mold that clay with his one arm and it takes him some time. But my luck will only last so long, he's smarter than he looks. There's been a few times I've dodged one bird just to barely dodge another bird that nearly blew my face off. I guess I could try a few ways to attack him.' thought Naruto.

He put his palms together and began channeling water chakra. Deidara watched as Naruto created a wave a few yards in front of him.

"What the hell is he doing, it's not like he'll hit me with that all the way from there, yeah." wondered Deidara.

All thoughts stopped as the wave swarmed to the side of the river and up towards Deidara. The blonde in question just commanded his bird to move a few feet back to dodge the attack. Deidara's eyes widened when he looked back at Naruto only to find him gone. He looked back at the wave to find Naruto surfing up it at him. Before the bird could move away Naruto had jumped off the wave and tackled Deidara off of it. He tried to punch the blonde Akatsuki while they were still free falling, but threw the man away when he saw him turning white. The clay clone exploded knocking Naruto back into the river. Naruto looked back at the bird to see Deidara emerging from it's back.

'Shit, he won't fall for that a second time.' thought Naruto angrily.

Deidara smirked at Naruto. "That was rather impressive. Too bad I switched myself with a clay clone!"

Naruto had to begin running away again thanks to Deidara throwing his explosive birds once more. Dodging the birds had begun to become not only annoying but tiresome as well. Turning around he did five had seals before taking a deep breath and blowing a strong wind at Deidara. The bird was forced away but not before Deidara threw a bomb. The bomb flew around the strong winds.

Not wanting to risk the explosion Naruto turned his attack onto the bomb blowing it away in the process. Unfortunately this was only a distraction for a snake like bomb to jump out of the forest behind Naruto and lunge for him. Having quit his jutsu Naruto form a single hand-sign. Just before the snake reach him a hand erupted from the river and snatched it out of the air. The water clone tossed the snake away before Deidara could detonate it. Deidara scowled at this, he didn't think the long haired redhead could create a water clone and so fast.

He looked at Naruto thinking over a plan. 'I need to end this soon, yeah. Luckily I was able to restore my clay supplies when we reached the hideout so I've still got a good supply. But if this drags out much longer then I may find myself running low. Unlike the sand jinchuriki he doesn't have an ultimate defense, but when he's on the water he can out run my art. Originally I had planned to simply make him waste his chakra on the water but he apparently doesn't need much chakra to perform his little technique."

Deidara moved his bang out of the way to reveal a scope like eye-patch. He took a closer look at Naruto.

'I can see some scorch marks. I guess he can't completely out run my art. The river makes it to where he can't move around much other than moving forward and backward, which is lucky on my part seeing as he can't really get around without losing his speed and risk getting blown up. But at the same time I haven't been able to mold clay fast enough to overpower him and I can't send any bombs onto the river or they would just sink. This is a stand still, hn. I could try using my c4, but then I risk killing the sand jinchuriki. I don't know if he has him hidden nearby.' Deidara thinks for a bit longer while molding more clay in his hand.

Naruto was done waiting and created a few water clones except this time he added a little fire to them to form a few boil clones. He immediately sent them out to attack Deidara. One clone grabbed the other and tossed it at Deidara. Seeing this he had his bird fly out of reach. He didn't know how but a clone had grabbed onto the wing of his bird and immediately dispersed. The liquid it left behind began dissolving his bird. Reaching into his pouch he pulled out another bird, activated it and leapt onto it. He immediately sent the bird well out of the way from any other clone that would try to latch on.

Strangely all the clones immediately dispersed at once.

Naruto wasn't surprised though. ' Boil chakra is unstable as it is. Trying to hold it in a form isn't possible for too long.'

He simply stared at Deidara, trying to find away around his aerial maneuverability.

**Back with Sasori and Katsuo**

Katsuo had many random cuts on his body and several purple splotches on his red suit. It was only thanks to his clan's ability that he wasn't dead yet from blood lost or poison. He had been able to avoid being skewered by the iron sand, but that was only thanks to the fact that Sasori was hesitant in allowing him to corrode his sand in one shot. And fortunately Katsuo he was able to parry most of the iron projectiles sent towards him. Sasori didn't seem harmed, but he did seem to be in thought. Various places on the ground was littered with corroded iron which was completely unusable.

'It's time to end this, I've lost a good deal of iron as it is.' thought Sasori.

He gathered all of his remaining iron and sent it towards Katsuo and had it weave around the blood he shot at it from his many wounds. He covered Katsuo and began adding pressure. Sasori suddenly sensed something behind him and jumped away. He had tried to drag his puppet with him, but a claw of sand immediately wrapped around it and crushed it with little effort. The iron that had surrounded Katsuo fell off him now that it's true master could no longer command it. Sasori looked a few feet to the left to see the one tailed jinchuriki they had capture a few days ago standing and healed. Though Gaara looked at him with a dull look but Sasori could feel the anger lashing off of him. Katsuo got up and began walking over to the Kazekage.

"I did not expect you to be able to join so soon Kazekage." said Katsuo.

Gaara gave him a quick glance. " I'm surprised as well, but that girl healed me by having me bite her. I would have been able to join sooner but I had to replenish my sand."

Katsuo gave an understanding nod. " Thank you for saving me."

Sasori looked at the pieces of his puppets. 'That's two I've lost. Once I recapture the Kazekage I'm going to immediately turn him into a puppet.'

Sasori grabbed his cloak and removed it. The sight that greeted Katsuo and Gaara was definitely shocking. Somehow Sasori had turned his own body into a puppet. His back had two bladed wing like metal rods hanging off the sides of his hips. Two pipes protruded from his hands and inside his stomach was a thick wire wrapped repeatedly around. On his chest was a compartment on his right side and a green canister on his left. Without warning Sasori lifted his hands and sent a barrage of flames towards them. Gaara had blocked the flames by raising a wall of sand, but Katsuo jumped in the way and grabbed the metal wire that had burst from the ground and nearly pierced Gaara. He had tried to hold onto the wire only it slipped from his bloody grasp. Gaara had sent wave after wave of sand to attack Sasori. Who with his bladed wings spinning had allowed him to evade the attacks and had nearly decapitated Katsuo a few times as he flew by. Katsuo haveing seen his sword out of the corner of his eye's made a mad dash for it. With his attention on his sword he couldn't see Sasori making another attempt at beheading him. Just as Katsuo grabbed his sword he swung around to find himself face to face with Sasori. It's was strange, Sasori looked like he was having a hard time moving. Snapping himself out of his confusion he popped a blood pill into his mouth before covering Sasori in his blood. Looking down at the corroding man Katsuo couldn't figure out what had happened.

Gaara walked up next to him. "That's twice now I've saved you."

"How did you?" asked Katsuo clearly puzzled.

Gaara's voice stayed dull. "I've been slowly filling his body with sand, he must have thought that I was missing. When he went to attack you I simply had the sand go to his joints which casued him to be unable to move."

"Good to see you two done with your fight as well!"

Gaara turned his head at the new arrival and saw Yori/Naruto. He had several scorch marks and was barely standing. Much of his clothes were ruined, his right sleeve was missing and there were several patches of cloth missing. For reasons unknown he was carrying a severed arm.

Katsuo saw Yori/Naruto's condition and ran over to him. " Sir are you ok, what happened?"

'Almost had a quite literal watery grave.' thought Naruto morbidly.

* * *

**Flashback Five minutes ago**

Deidara was tired of playing cat and Naruto was through with playing mouse. Naruto turned around and created a few shadow clones. Each shadow clone had grabbed a kunai and charged wind chakra into them while Naruto did the same with a giant fuma shurikan. Naruto spun his shuriken making it look like a spinning windmill of death. His clones threw their kunais forcing Deidara to dodge to the side. Naruto threw his weapon at the spot Deidara would be. Deidara had just barely ducked just enough so that the weapon had only cut his ponytail off. Seeing his chance Deidara had his hidden bombs spring out and surround Naruto.

"This is it, yeah**. GOODBYE, ART IS A GAAAHHH**!"

Deidara's explosions went off just as the shuriken Naruto had thrown slashed through his body from behind him. The weapon had cut from an angle severing not only his upper body but his remaining arm as well.

'But how?' were Deidara last thoughts.

As his severed body fell backwards his answered stood before him. A shadow clone dispersed from a tree off to the the side of the river. Naruto got up shaking with effort. Had his remaining clones not jumped on him and covered him from the blast he would be dead right now. They weren't able to take all of the damage but that didn't matter right now, the missing rock nin was dead and he was alive. At the moment that's all the mattered. He watched as the clay bird crashed while it's masters severed remains began sinking into the water. He turned to return and see how the others were doing. He stopped when he noticed Deidara's hand on the ground. Somehow it had landed in the forest instead of following it's owner to his grave.

'That guy was tough. If I didn't have this river I would probably be dead right now.' thought Naruto

He picked the arm off the ground and began looking at it. He wondered how there were mouth's on the hands and about the ring on the finger.

' I think I've seen a similar ring on Itachi's and Kisame's hands as well. Something to do with the organization?'

He took the ring off and pocketed it. He held onto the arm. It would be good for numerous reasons, whether he decided to collect the bounty on Deidara or had his whirlpool nins study it. In the end he was sure to get something good out of it. With nothing else to distract him he headed back to the others hoping they faired better in their fight.

* * *

Gaara was suspicious of the people that rescued him. He had wanted to question them but decided against it. Karin had shown up minutes later looking pale and ready to faint. Naruto gave Karin a quick glance and new instantly what she did. It wouldn't be the first time she did it, he hated how she could heal others by letting them suck chakra from her and he hated the permanant bite marks that resulted from it even more. Naruto had tried to take a few steps towards her only to fall over and pass out. Katsuo had ran over while Karin tried her best to rush over to him. Checking his vitals they were glad to see that he was simply just unconscious. Katsuo had tried to pick up his Uzukage but found that a cloud of sand had lifted him up instead.

"I take it he is your leader and the one who decided to my rescue?" asked Gaara.

Karin and Katsuo just nodded.

"Then I owe him." said Gaara before turning around and making his way back to Suna.

* * *

On the way back they ran into the leaf nins except they now had team Guy with them. The trip back was rather calm and peaceful when Sakura wasn't trying to use Yori/Naruto's condition to try and heal him while secretly trying to confirm her suspicion. She had been caught several times aggressively rubbing his face with a wet rag. She had simply tried to say she was "trying to clean the dirt from his face." which didn't convince either whirlpool nin. Gaara had given Yori/Naruto a few suspicious glares from time to time, otherwise he seemed to keep to himself. Kakashi had tried to interrogate Karin and Katsuo in order to figure out how they had avoided running into the faux Itachi. Unfortunately neither would answer any of his questions and without them being under his team he couldn't do anything about it.

Halfway into Suna they found a rather large group of sand nins heading towards them. Originally these nins were sent out to find Gaara but were ecstatic to find Gaara with the leaf and whirlpool nins. Gaara wasn't expecting this and was rather surprised by his nins reactions, he wouldn't admit this but he was touched to know they would come looking for him.

* * *

Naruto woke up facing a white ceiling. The room was dark and his bed was comfortable. He would have stayed comfortable in his bed if it were not for the sand hand that had gripped his neck.

"Your ninja have informed me that you were the one that decided to come to my rescue. Now I want to know why." said Gaara tightening the sand that gripped his throat.

Seeing no real way out. " We'll I was in the middle of forming a alliance with Konohaahhh!"

Gaara had tightened his sand. " I know about that but I asked why you came?"

" I... was... hoping to... form an alliance... with you!" said Yori/Naruto, finding it hard to speak with the grip on his throat.

Realizing this Gaara loosened his grip. Yori/Naruto had instantly began taking some thankful breathes.

" You want to form an alliance between Uzu and Suna. I don't believe that, no one would risk fighting Akatsuki just to form an alliance between two very distant villages. I'll ask you again why?" asked Gaara.

Naruto quickly realized he wouldn't be able to fool Gaara and live. "Is anyone from Konoha still here?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed. " No they left yesterday. What has that got to do with my question?" he said showing that he was losing his patience.

" Because me and you have lived similar lives."

Gaara's grip vanished. " N-Naruto?"

"Sorry for the deception pal." said Naruto.

With Gaara realizing that the Uzukage was Naruto he went from threatening to puzzled. Seeing this and knowing that leaf nins were no longer around to eaves drop Naruto decided to fill him in on what had happened lately. He told him about his clan, how he got his village started, the fight against Yagura and his alliance with the hidden mist village, and what he was doing right now and why it was important that he stay under his current guise. Gaara understood Naruto's reasons and why he tried to lie to him as well. With the story out of the way Gaara had told Naruto he would gladly form an alliance between them but would need him to stay for a while to do so. Naruto had agreed saying that he would only need to send a letter to Konoha explaining his current situation and informing them that he would be back later. With the serious talk and business out of the way they decided to have a friendly chat and fill each other in on the going ons of their villages. Naruto had thrown a few jokes in saying such things as "if this is how you treat a friend no wonder that rock nins arm was crushed". Gaara seem to take these jokes rather well. Even though his village now accepted him Gaara had few people he could really talk to and none other than Naruto that understood his life. they had talked for some hours before Naruto realized he had not seen Katsuo and Karin.

"Hey Gaara where are my sister and Katsuo?"

Gaara walked over to the curtains and simply opened them to show that it was night. Naruto realized that they were most likely asleep.

But then he realized another thing. " Dammit, I simply assumed that it was day because you were awake. I forgot that you can't sleep thanks to your demon, Geez now I'm getting tired."

" Hmmmm, I guess I should let you rest. But before I do I want to ask you something.?"

Naruto simply nodded his head giving Gaara the go ahead.

Gaara walked over to a bag and pulled out Deidara's arm. "Why were you carrying this?"

" I was hoping to make use of it one way or another." said Naruto

Gaara looked at the hand for a few seconds. " That's rather morbid, then again I guess you would use an enemy's hand as a back scratcher."

Naruto had went to protest but stopped. Despite his dull tone Naruto had caught the humor in Gaara's voice.

When his shock passed Naruto had begun laughing. "Never thought I'd see the day that you would tell a joke!" more laughter. " but good one."

Putting the arm back Gaara had informed Naruto that they would begin making the alliance official tomorrow. Naruto let Gaara know he heard and decided to get back to sleep.

* * *

**Five days later**

Thanks to the fact that Suna and Uzu had very few things that could be traded between each other plus the fact that Gaara and Naruto would definitely help one another the alliance agreement was done rather fast. Once that was done Naruto, Karin, and Katsuo had to depart and finish their business in Konoha, but not before Naruto asked Gaara not to tell Konoha about him. Naruto was sure that Gaara wouldn't tell them either way but he needed to be sure. Due to the fact that there was no rush they took their time to get back. Right now they were passing through Konoha's gate once more dressed in his kage robes.

" Hey could you two go on to the hotel. I'm going to head on to the Hokage and let her know I'm here." said Naruto.

The two didn't like the idea of Naruto just walking around without them but at the same time understood he could take care of himself. Letting Naruto know they would do as he asked they headed off for a hotel. Naruto had decided to head off to the Hokage tower. When he got there Shizune wasn't there. Walking up to the double doors he knocked on it. He didn't get an answer.

He knocked once more. "Tsunade... it's Yori."

Naruto still didn't get an answer. Naruto cracked the door open and looked in to find no one. At this time Shizune walked up and nearly dropped her papers when she saw Yori/Naruto.

" OH Uzukage I didn't think you would be back so early. If your looking for Lady Tsunade she isn't here."

Yori/Naruto looked at Shizune for a second. " Do you know when she'll be in?"

Shizune shook her head. " I'll send someone to come get you when she is in."

Naruto thanked Shizune and walked away. While he was walking through a crowded market street when a thought occurred to him

'Maybe she's there."

Naruto walked to the park he found Hinata at. It was strange for him when he found Hinata here, but the sight before him seemed to bring a whole new level of strange. Tsunade was not in her usual clothes. Instead she was wearing a set of what looked like gardening clothes. The only reason he recognized her was due to the diamond shape on her forehead. She had been planting flowers at his grave. He was sure there would be many that wouldn't agree with the seen he saw but right now he didn't care. He tilted his hat trying to hide the tears that slid down his face. He hoped that none of the Anbu that were certainly guarding Tsunade at the moment would notice anything strange about him. Once his face was dry again he went back to watching her. He didn't have it in him to approach her right now. It was odd to see the signs that she was working hard. Sweat on her face, her gloves covered in dirt, and her clothes ruffled. Naruto continued to watch her work for some time. This continued on till a drunk stumbled into the park. It was obvious from the scowl on his face as he approached the scene that he was one of the many that did not like Naruto when he was a kid and still didn't in _death_. Naruto watched the man closely as the he made his way closer and closer muttering curses of the fox boy. Unfortunately for the man Naruto had noticed how Tsunade had tensed at the mans appearance and how the peace that once filled the park had now vanished. As soon as the drunk got within reach of the Uzukage he had been grabbed and brought face to face with him. Before the drunk could utter any insult he looked into Yori/Naruto's deep blue eyes and went silent. Those eyes looked like they glowed with power and had such killer intent he couldn't believe a human was capable of such a thing.

"I'll only tell you once, **LEAVE NOW **or else you will be lucky to wake up with a hang over tomorrow." growled Yori/Naruto in such a low voice that the Anbu nearby could barely hear him.

Afterwards Yori/Naruto roughly pushed the man away. Luckily for everyone the man left immediately. One of the Anbu began approaching Yori/Naruto

'Great... I'm going to be scolded.' thought Naruto rather sarcasticly.

" Thank you." whispered the Anbu.

Naruto's surprised face was rather evident despite his kage hat shadowing much of his face. Before he could ask the Anbu to repeat himself he disappeared once more. Deciding that now would be an okay time to approach Tsunade he made his way over to her.

She had gone back to work but still acknowledged Yori/Naruto's approach. " Thank you for dealing with that."

" Your welcome, by the way why do you plant flowers at his grave?" asked Naruto.

Tsunade took a second to wipe off the sweat from her brow. " As the Hokage I can't just come by whenever I want to. So I've started planting these flowers every now and then. It's my way of making up for all the times I can't come by."

Naruto was having a hard time holding back the tears that threatened to spill. Somehow he did and they stood there in silence for some time.

"Are people like that guy I scared away common?" asked Naruto though he knew the answer.

Tsunade nodded. " It's a shame when a person can't find peace even in death."

" I'm sure he's happy to have people like you and Hinata. I'm also happy to see that one of my clansmen is cared for." said Naruto though it took much to not break down.

He hated what he was putting those that cared for him through. Things weren't suppose to be like this. He knew he was liked by some but he didn't realize how much some cared about him.

'It was bad enough to see the effect my _death _had on Hinata, but Grandma Tsunade...'

They stayed in silence once more. Tsunade went back to tending the garden around Naruto's _grave _while Yori/Narutowas trying to get his emotions back under control.

Having finished her gardening Tsunade turned her attention to Yori/Naruto. " I've got most of the paper work for the alliance taken care of, hopefully we can get this taken care of tomorrow. If you want your free to stay a bit longer, you allowed my ninjas to stay at your village for longer than needed so it's only fair I do the same."

"Thank you, unfortunately I have to get back to my village soon. I have been gone for a longer time than I should." replied Yori/Naruto.

Tsunade nodded at this understanding his need to get back home. She prayed once more in front of the grave before leaving. Yori/Naruto stayed for some time looking at the grave with his name on it.

Author's note: I've got to be truthful, this chapter was faster to write than the second chapter but something didn't feel write as I wrote the fight scenes. I had gone over them repeatedly trying to improve them. I finally got to a point where I coudn't improve without wrecking another part of the chapter. As you can see Naruto and Hinata's relationship will take some time to form. I hope I don't lose any fans over that fact but at the same time there are too many where they fall in love over night with no real good reason what so ever. I'm trying my best to keep it going good but it's difficult. Hopefully Chapter four will give me a better vibe. till next time.


	4. Chapter 4: Drifting Thoughts

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Usuegi belongs to Trife but Satoru Yasuhiro belongs to me

Author's note: Some people have wanted me to turn this into a harem or have Naruto paired with someone else instead of Hinata. In truth it would be so much easier to pair him up with Karin with how the story began. Well I'm not going to do that. I had promised myself that my first story would be a Naruto x Hinata because I'm a fan of it. If there are those of you that really want a different pairing well I'm sorry you'll just have to wait till my second stoy comes out. That one will be a Naruto x Tenten pairing. Also for those of you who want to know why Naruto didn't reveal himself to anyone of Konoha will be explained in this chapter. Thanks for the great reviews. Thanks again Illidan your review was most appreciated.

Chapter 4 : Drifting Thoughts

It had been nearly a month since Naruto had returned to Uzu after forming an alliance with both Suna and Konoha. Karin at the moment was filing away some mission reports at the Uzukage building. She had noticed that Naruto had been acting strange lately. On the way back from Konoha he had rarely talked and had been rather evasive when asked if something was wrong. She assumed he would be fine once they returned home. He did seem to brighten up, but that was only when he kept himself busy between his job as the Uzukage and his new training regimen.

'Speaking of which. If those readings I'm getting are anything to go by, he's at it again.'

Ever since his fight with Deidara, Naruto had been training to further increase his speed and reaction timing. He never wanted to be so reliant on traveling on the river as he did back then. Yes the river had help increase his speed, but it also trapped him. If he left for land he would be too slow to outrun the explosive birds thrown at him.

As Karin finished putting away the last report she made her way to the Uzukage office. Opening the door she saw Tayuya sitting at Naruto's desk asleep. Apparently she was wearing the kage hat to keep the light out of her face. Karin was going to just ignore the situation but then got an idea. She be lying if she didn't say she picked up a few of Naruto's habits. She walked over to a book shelf and picked the thickest one she could find. Quietly walking back over to the desk she raised it as high as she could before dropping it onto the desk. The loud bang had caused Tayuya to instantly jump up into a battle stance with a feral look on her face. Karin laughed openly at this. Seeing this Tayuya sat back down before glaring at Karin.

"What the hell was that for." said Tayuya

Karin took a second to stop laughing. " You should know better than to sleep at his desk."

Tayuya's response was instant. "Fuck you I was tired. Naruto isn't the only one who's been training like crazy. Ever since I've heard from Katsuo about their damn fight against Akatsuki we've been training dammit."

Karin nodded at this. Truth be told she would be training too if she was a combative ninja, but she was more of a support member and Naruto had even preferred her to be so.

" So how is Naruto doing, has he told you whats been bothering him?" asked Karin

"Yeah, it took me a fucking while but I finally got him to talk about it. He's been bothered by how some of his friends have reacted to his disappearance." answered Tayuya.

Karin looked towards where Naruto's chakra was currently at. "I should have guessed that's what it was. So do you have any suggestions on how to help him."

Tayuya shook her head. "I don't know. If it was me I'd do what I could not to think about it, but he's already doing that."

"Maybe if we can get him to do something that isn't so routine." asked Karin

Tayuya got out of the chair and walked over to a blue scroll from Kiri hanging on a shelf. The scroll was an invitation from Mei. Naruto could have shown up without getting one, but Mei had sent one hoping to encourage him to come.

"Maybe if he goes to the chunin exams he can stop fucking thinking on things he can't do a damn thing about."

Karin smiled at this. "That's actually a good idea. Here I'll go talk him into it."

Karin had reached out for the scroll only for Tayuya to move the scroll out of her reach.

" Hey what gives?" asked Karin rather annoyed.

Tayuya shot a glare at her. "_What gives _is the fact that last time you and mister hot blooded had been allowed to go on vacation while I was fucking stuck here. This time it's my turn and I don't plan to let you to convince him to take you this time instead of me dammit."

Karin was going to try and go with Naruto this time but guessed that it was only fair that Tayuya got her chance. Not seeing an argument forming Tayuya left with the scroll and headed towards Naruto's personal training ground. On the way there on a Market street she ran into Katsuo and another man. The man next Katsuo was only a year older than Tayuya. He wore his blue Uzu headband over his short brown hair in a bandana style. Despite his head band you could tell his hair was parted down the middle with the way his hair stuck out from underneath it. His brown eyes had a calm and somewhat sleepy look to them while his face wore a relaxed smile. He liked loose fitting clothes with many pockets if His black cargo pants and dark blue jacket was anything to go by. Even his knuckle cut off gloves seemed rather loose on him. As Tayuya looked she could see he was wearing a artistic shirt but couldn't tell what exactly it was thanks to the fact that his jacket wasn't opened wide enough. Without even saying hello or giving some kind of greeting she walked up to him and opened his jacket wider. The shirt had an armored samurai in a defensive position with his hand ready to draw his sword, behind him was a sakura tree and various petals patterned onto the shirt as if a wind was blowing.

"I see your going with the damn samurai today Satoru." said Tayuya

Strangely enough Satoru didn't seemed bothered by Tayuya's rudeness, but then again this was routine whenever he wore one of these shirts.

" Yasuhiro why do you let Lady Tayuya do that?" asked Katsuo

Satoru gave an annoyed sigh. "Because she isn't doing any harm and I've told you to call me by my first name, friends are suppose to throw formality aside _Katsuo."_

"As you say Yasuhiro." replied Katsuo.

Satoru sighed again before turning to Tayuya. " So Tayuya what brings you here, on your way to see the boss by chance?"

" Yeah, Naruto has been upset since his fucking trip to Konoha." said Tayuya.

Katsuo nodded at this. "He did seem bothered on our way back, but me and Lady Karin couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong."

"Hopefully going to the chunin exams will help get his damn mind off of whatever is bothering him. Guess it's a good thing a ran into you, he's going to need a second guard." said Tayuya

Katsuo automaticly assumed he would be going. " I'll go and prepare immediately."

Tayuya glared at Katsuo. " Who the hell said I was taking you?"

"Heh, well even I thought you were going to take him. Right now he's far stronger than me, so I would guess he'd be the best choice." said Satoru trying to keep Tayuya from tearing into Katsuo.

Tayuya while still annoyed turned her attention to Satoru. " Well it's a damn good thing our Uzukage doesn't need to be fucking baby sat then. Katsuo and Karin went last time and besides I want someone that's not going to piss me off the entire trip."

" Alright I guess I'm going then, well see you later Katsuo." said Satoru

Katsuo nodded before walking away.

Tayuya watched as he left. "He fucking upset about not going?"

" Nah, just a bit worried he's not living up to the bosses expectations." replied Satoru, scratching his chest.

Tayuya had begun heading towards Naruto's training ground again with Satoru walking along with her. It didn't take them long to reach their destination. As they walked onto the training area which was just an open area in a forest they could see the evidence that Naruto had been over doing things again. The ground was littered with all sorts of damages from cracks to scorch marks and so on. In the middle was Naruto surrounded by six of his clones. He wasn't wearing his kage robes leaving him only in his full body leather armor he always wore underneath it. Two of the clones engaged him in taijutsu while three others began throwing kunais and shurikens at him, leaving the last clone to fire different ninjutsus at him. The entire time Naruto had only stayed on the defensive and only dodged or blocked. Tayuya had originally thought he couldn't fight back but soon realized it was simply part of his training when she saw him ignore several openings. She had to admit that he had greatly improved on how he used his shadow clones. She remembered a time when he would simply create an army worth and have them charge with no strategy. But that wasn't the case here. The clones right now were working together and completely aware of what the others were going to do. The two clones fighting hand to hand with Naruto would barely shift their body to the side to dodge a projectile thrown from behind them instead of completely jumping out of the way. And when a ninjutsu was fired, they would do the bare minimal to dodge it and continue their attacks. Every now and then the three clones fighting long range would mix in an explosive kunai within their barrage forcing Naruto to jump away from his current position. This went on for another ten minutes before Naruto had dispelled his clones and walked towards Tayuya and Satoru.

"Working hard as usual eh boss." said Satoru once again scratching his chest.

" Yeah and I see your still itching Satoru." replied Naruto.

Satoru shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry, I'm not scratching as bad as I use to."

Naruto nodded before turning to Tayuya. "Hey sis what's up?"

"We're going to Kiri for the damn chunin exams." stated Tayuya.

"Oh alright, didn't think you and Satoru were dating. Well enjoy yourselves." said Naruto.

Tayuya smacked Naruto over the head with the scroll. " We're not dating and you know damn well I meant you were going."

"Wait.. what. Tayuya I can't just up and leave just to go watch a few fights between genins." said Naruto

Tayuya gave him a hard glare before handing him the scroll. " If you haven't forgotten you and the Mizukage have a fucking alliance and she has asked you to come. And besides your the Uzukage, isn't the chunin exams one of the few things that allows you to go and relax?"

"But we don't even have any genins to send thanks to the fact that we have just recently gotten the schools up and running. What would be the point of me going?" asked Naruto not realizing he was in a losing argument.

Not wanting to begin screaming at him she took a second to calm down."Look you have been working yourself to death between your job as Uzukage and your training. You should take this chance to go and relax, you won't get many chances with how your life is."

Satoru not really wanting to be standing around for much longer decided to help. " She's right boss, you've been working none stop. Come on just go to this thing and relax a few days. Afterwards you can go right back to this hectic schedule of yours. Besides you can catch up with the Mizukage while your at it."

Naruto thought things over for a bit. In truth they were right and he could tell that Tayuya wasn't going to give up on this. Though he couldn't figure out why she was so adamant on going. He let out a sigh before letting them know they would be leaving tomorrow.

* * *

**Six days later In Kiri**

Naruto walked towards the Mizukage's office closely followed by Tayuya and Satoru. Coming to a set of double doors he went to knock only for the doors to swing open before he could even touch the door. The man who had opened the door was rather young and had short tuft light blue hair and wore square rimmed glasses that connected to some kind of head phones. He wore a long sleeve teal turtle neck and tan pants with brown camo patterns on it. Over his turtle neck was a holster for the large dual handle sword on his back and had his mist headband stiched into it. If the sword on his back wasn't proof enough that he was one of the seven swordsmen of the mist his shark like teeth wore.

"Thank you for getting the door Chojuro."

Chojuro quickly moved aside to let them in. As Naruto walked in he could see Mei wasn't wearing her kage attire and just simply wore her blue dress. Naruto sat down on one of the chairs before Mei's desk and dismissed Satoru and Tayuya as Mei did the same with Chojuro. Tayuya and Satoru left quickly while Chojuro was trying to find every reason he could to stay. He eventually left when he saw that he was only annoying Mei. With the guards gone or at least the visible ones they began talking.

" I hope your trip here wasn't any trouble." said Mei

Naruto gave a light chuckle. " Well except for Tayuya getting a little seasick and moody it was pretty much alright."

Mei nodded at this, despite never having met Tayuya she knew how the girl could be thanks to the letters they exchanged.

" Now that I think about it you have two more alliances. How was your trip to Konoha?" she asked

Naruto took a second to try and tilt his kage hat but Mei had already seen the sad look on his face. She had tried to ask what was wrong but Naruto already began talking.

"The treaties went well." he simply answered.

Mei's worried face was easy to read, so before she could ask he added. " I saw somethings that really bothered me. I don't really feel like talking about it, at least not until I can do something about it."

She understood and quickly went to change the subject. " You know, I was really looking forwards to seeing some whirlpool ninjas participating in these exams."

He seemed to brighten up at least a little. " Well I would have sent some but as you know we just got our academy up and running only recently. So we haven't actually had any genins produced yet."

" How do you have the academy system set up, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Mei

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. " I've pretty much got the teaching done the same as Konoha's, although I've changed the graduating test. I just never liked how Konoha graduated us."

It was a common known fact that Konoha produced a good quantity of ninja from their academies while the quality of these ninja's were random. Some died before their careers ever truly started, though they had several powerful ninjas such as Kakashi. She had to agree with Naruto's decision to change how they graduated. At the moment he was trying to stabilize his village and maintane a strong militia and needed an even amount of quality and quantity of ninjas within his village. They continued to chat about random topics for another thirty minutes before Mei informed Naruto that she had to get back to work. He left letting her know he understood and would talk with her again at the chunin finals.

* * *

**The next day**

Last time Naruto was here he was more concerned with the civil war going on than his interest in the village itself. Luckily he had arrived early and had three days before the chunin exams. This gave him plenty of time to just simply walk around the village and enjoy all it had to offer. Looking around he could make a few comparisons to his village due to the fact that both were on small islands. Although Naruto had to wonder if the constant fog that existed in the village was a jutsu similar to the whirlpools that surrounded his village or if it was just a weird act of nature. He put the thought aside and resigned to just enjoy himself.

After leaving a restaurant he had to admit that he was surprised from the many different sea-foods offered that Uzu didn't have. He thought about finding a way to get Mei to export some of the fishes that Kiri caught over to Uzu. Walking on with no real direction he wondered what Satoru and Tayuya were up to. Tayuya would most likely look for more music sheets or browse for some flutes. There were many times Naruto had told Tayuya he enjoyed hearing her play her flute, he never understood it but he always seemed to relax when she played.

Unfortunately he had no idea what Satoru was up to. The only thing he knew about the man was his interest in artfully designed shirts. He had asked Satoru if he was interested in art but the man had told him no. Naruto had studied the shirts before trying to find a common connection. But every shirt he wore was different altogether. For instance the one he wore the other day was that samurai with the cherry tree behind him, today he wore one with a white snake design that wrapped around his shirt red shirt. Tayuya had to do her daily ritual of opening Satoru's jacket to get a better look at it. Once she did she instantly closed it. Naruto tried to hold back a snicker due to Tayuya's phobia, in truth he didn't find it funny but her reaction to it was. She still didn't like anything that reminded her of the snake sannin.

Naruto had to blink several times as he stared at his current location. Though he didn't exactly have any idea of where to go he still was surprised to find himself in the old Mizukage office where he and Mei fought Yagura. Naruto didn't know why but part of himself wanted to leave immediately while another part willed him to stay. He couldn't find any particular reason of why he should leave so he just stood there. Thinking about his fight he couldn't help but see images of the fight that occurred here. His thoughts left the fight and once again went to Konoha. He didn't tell Tayuya and Karin that he felt guilty about what his selfish dream had done to those who cared for him. If he had only been trying to bring his clan back to greatness he'd gladly have stayed in Konoha. He'd probably still have stayed in Konoha if he wasn't the Uzukage and didn't have a responsibility to his village.

His thoughts were interupted by the clapping of footsteps reverberating through the nearly empty room. He turned about and saw Mei walking up to him. The sad look on her face had him confused until she opened her mouth.

" I thought you should know that the Hokage plans to show up for the chunin exams."

He turned away. 'I guess it's true that you can't run from your past.'

"What has been bothering you?" Mei asked clearly concerned.

Naruto took a second to think before turning around to reply.

" When I went to Konoha.. I found out that many thought I was dead."

"But isn't that a good thing?" she wondered out loud

"... It would be if there truly wasn't anyone that cared about me. The people that do care about me... are dealing with my false death rather badly." said Naruto barely above a whisper.

Mei thought back to what Naruto said the other day and now understood what he meant. She could see that he was trying to avoid thinking about this, but when did a person's conscious ever listen to them.

"Naruto there's nothing you can do about what's going on in Konoha. Your the leader of your village, it's not like you can leave your people just to help those in Konoha." said Mei

It's ironic how you can tell yourself something yet it doesn't make an impact on you till someone else tells you the same thing. Naruto looked towards Mei with a look of understanding.

" Though I have to wonder why you simply haven't told them who you are, why go by a fake name?" asked Mei

Naruto took a second to think of his response. " Right now I'm the Uzukage only as a self appointed village leader. There are those of you who have been kind enough to refer to me in this faux title but until I can become an official kage I can't risk anyone knowing about my real identity."

Mei nodded at this. "Until your village is recognized as one of the great elemental nations then people can ignore your title, if Konoha wanted they could send someone to capture you and in truth there wouldn't be anything to truly stop them due to the fact that your one of their missing nin."

" Once I've been recognized as a kage by all five great nations then I'll be able to walk freely." said Naruto

" At that point there wouldn't be anything Konoha could do against you without risking angering the other nations."added Mei

Naruto gave a soft nod. " It's not going to be easy though. I've increased my territory and have created a rather commendable militia, Uzu is becoming known once more and many smaller villages have started admiring us. I know I have your support and I highly doubt Gaara would try and stop me, although I'm not certain about the Hokage. Tsunade hasn't shown any distrust towards me or Uzu and actually seems friendly towards us, but that doesn't mean she would be willing to acknowledge Uzu as one of the great nations."

" What about the Raikage and Tsuchikage?" asked Mei

" Heh I've actually got a trick up my sleeve for the Tsuchikage, it's the Raikage that's going to give me the most trouble." said Naruto, a smirk clearly on his face.

Mei had wanted to ask what Naruto had planned but had decided she'd find out later. " I'm glad to see your feeling better now, and just as a reminder you have my support."

Naruto flashed another smile. " Thank you. I really needed someone to talk to, I just didn't know it."

" No problem." she said before leaving.

* * *

**Three days later**

It was nostalgic to be watching the chunin finals. Up on the kage only row sat Naruto, Mei, and Tsunade each adorned in their respective kage robes. Naruto was actually shocked to see Tsunade wearing hers. He couldn't really remember a time when she wore them other than when she was announced as the Hokage before all of Konoha. Naruto turned his attention at her guards. They were two faceless anbus and all Naruto could remark about was that one wore a lion mask while the other wore a cat mask. Satoru and Tayuya were on both sides of him. Tayuya seemed some what bored while Satoru seemed rather interested in the current match.

At the moment a Suna puppeteer was fighting against an Ame nin. The Suna nin was a rather advanced puppeteer thanks to the fact that he was currently controlling more than one puppet. The rain nin was wearing an oxygen mask so he wasn't in danger from getting poisoned from any of the gas coming from the puppets but was unable to attack due to how the puppeteer kept him at bay with one puppet while the other stood guard next to it's master. After a while the Ame nin forfeited not seeing any way to get around either puppet.

" Well that was rather dull." said Tsunade

Mei chuckled. " It can't be helped, the poor rain nin had just been pitted against an opponent that could stop all his strategies, wouldn't you agree Yori."

Yori/Naruto didn't answer at first and Mei had to call out to him a few times. Yori/Naruto finally realised she had been calling him by his fake name and acted as if he was too focused on something.

" Sorry about that Mei, it's just that I've always found the way puppeteers fight is rather amazing." Naruto apologized.

It wasn't really a lie. He had always thought that the ability to use puppets was cool, but also realized that to properly learn to use them one had to have a dedication to them. And he already put that dedication to learning his family ninjutsu among others.

They chatted back and forth for a while on a few of the matches. Tsunade had even began making bets for a few of the matches. He was glad to see that she wasn't as sad as last time he saw her.

'At least she is happy enough to gamble.' thought Naruto with a little humor.

He began watching the matches again when suddenly someone in the stands caught his eyes.

'Is that who I think that is?'

Yori/Naruto had gotten up from his chair causing the other two kages to give him curious looks.

" I'm going to go for a little walk, I'm not really the type to stay still for long." answered Naruto.

Tsunade gave a soft chuckle. " Trust me I've noticed."

Naruto returned her chuckle with his own before walking off.

* * *

**Somewhere in the stands**

Hinata found herself having a conversation with... no a conversation consisted of two people talking. Right now she was simply listening to a nobleman talk on and on about his family and status. Unfortianately Hinata was sent to the chunin exams finals by her clan council in hopes of finding her a suitor. She didn't want to even begin thinking of such things but had complied with the concils wishes and had hoped to simply come here and relax. But somehow this noble had found out about the Hyuga's seeking out a suitor for her and decided to approach her. She had wanted to tell the man many times to kindly leave but her shyness and his mouth wouldn't let her. She was just about to consider ordering the branch guard to knock him out when a familiar voice spoke.

"Sir I believe you are sitting in my seat."

The nobleman had turned around to tell off the man but paled when he looked at Yori/Naruto. Quickly getting up the nobleman began apologizing profusely over and over again. Yori/Naruto had quietly sat down next to Hinata as the nobleman left.

"T-Thank you Yori." Hinata said when the nobleman was out of sight.

Yori/Naruto laughed. "No problem, it looked like you were being annoyed. If you don't mind me asking what brings you here?" asked Naruto.

Hinata sighed. "M-My clan council decided to take advantage of the chunin exams to t-try and get me to... f-for better words mingle with other high noble members of society."

Yori/Naruto nodded. " That makes sense. The finals for the chunin exams gather many of these kinds of people." Naruto pointed to varies people dressed in rich garments.

Hinata sadly nodded at this.

" I take it you really don't want to do this." stated Yori/Naruto.

Hinata shook her head. Naruto had begun to notice the stares in there direction, and that many were staring at Hinata more so than both of them. He looked at Hinata and saw that she noticed the stares as well and was growing rather uncomfortable.

"Is there a match your looking forward to watching?" asked Yori/Naruto

Hinata shook her head.

" Well would you like to walk around the village instead?" asked Yori/Naruto.

" I-I would but my guard was ordered to make sure I stayed in the stadium. I r-really don't want him to get in trouble." replied Hinata.

Yori/Naruto took a moment to think when a sly smile crossed his face.

"Well as long as he thinks you're _mingling _with a possible suitor I don't think he'll get in too much trouble." said Yori/Naruto

Yori/Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at how Hinata's face went completely red and as she began stuttering to the point that barely anyone could understand what she was saying.

'Well I can't say that's not the Hinata I'm used to.' thought Yori/Naruto humorously

"U-U-Umm... I-I-I mean I-I-I wouldn't mi-mind..." stuttered Hinata

Yori/Naruto gently lay a hand on Hinata's shoulder hoping to calm her. She went completely quiet when she felt his touch but he couldn't tell if it was because she calmed down or if it was because she was too shocked, either way he could now talk.

" Look I'm only saying he needs to think that." whispered Yori/Naruto

Hinata calmed when she heard him and nodded to let him know it was ok for them to leave.

As they got up Yori/Naruto offered his arm. " Might as well paint a picture for them."

Hinata seemed hesitant at first but eventually linked her arm with his, letting out a small giggle as they left.

**Back with the kages**

" Wow. Boss left for a pretty good reason." said Satoru

Tayuya, Mei, and Tsunade looked at Satoru with puzzled looks.

" What the hell are you talking about" said Tayuya

Satoru simply pointed out to a section at the top of the spectator rows. They followed the direction he pointed and saw Yori/Naruto with his arm linked with Hinata leaving the staduim.

Tsunade openly laughed when she recognized Hinata. " I wonder how many shades of red I can make her turn on the way back."

The two leaf anbu couldn't help but feel sorry for Hinata, but at least the trip back would be less boring. Mei was shaking her head back and forth while Tayuya was having similar thoughts to Tsunade. Seeing that Yori/Naruto would no longer stay in the stadium Tayuya and Satoru left to go shadow them.

**Outside of the stadium**

Yori/Naruto and Hinata were walking through the village to the market section. The branch Hyuga that was guarding Hinata had followed them out but kept his distance. Yori/Naruto was expecting to see Neji but guessed he was out on a mission. Neither had attempted to unlink their arms and if Naruto was truthful he didn't really want to.

" So were do you want to go Hinata?" asked Yori/Naruto

"I'm not really sure, umm I really wouldn't mind if you chose." said Hinata

Yori/Naruto shook his head. " I arrived early so I've had plenty of time to look around. I don't really have a place in mind but if you want I guess I could show you around. You know return the favor back from when you showed me around Konoha."

" I would really enjoy that Y-Yori."; said Hinata quietly

Yori/Naruto spent the next few hours showing Hinata around to the places he knew about, it wasn't his village so he couldn't exactly give it's history but he could tell her the little he knew from some of the letters he and Mei sent to each other. At one point they had walked by the Mizukage building and Yori/Naruto decided to walk through and tell her about him and Mei fighting Yagura considering it was the only event he truly knew about. He tried to give exact details of the fight and made sure to include the part that if Mei wasn't there he'd be hanging from the hook of Yagura's staff. Hinata had giggled at his embarrassment. After a while Yori/Naruto had taken Hinata to a cliff that over looked the entire village. This had the unfortunate event of making the Hyuga guard become very cautious due to the fact that they were in a isolated area.

" The view is rather beautiful." said Hinata

Yori/ Naruto turned his attention away from the guard and back to Hinata.

" Yeah it is, unfortunately I don't know anything about this spot except the obvious." said Yori/Naruto.

Hinata shrugged her shoulders before sitting down on one of the benches nearby. Yori/Naruto followed her example but made sure to cituat his robes before sitting.

Thinking back to some of the things he noticed about Hinata during his little _tour_.

" I noticed you looking at some of the wedding dresses on our way here. I thought you weren't looking forward to a suitor." said Yori/Naruto

Hinata seemed to get sad at this. " I would like to get married, but I don't want someone chosen for me and many of the people I've met here seem..."

" Too full of themselves." said Yori/Naruto

Hinata giggled. " Well I was trying to put it nicely but yes I guess you could say that."

Yori/Naruto smiled. " I can understand what you mean about not wanting someone picked for you. I would like to really get to know someone before choosing whether I wanted to marry them or not."

Hinata nodded. " B-Besides once the person I'm forced to marry finds out how I'm... well as Naruto once said w-weird he wouldn't want anything to do with me."

Yori/Naruto lowered his head hearing that. He remembered when he called her weird, he had also said he liked people like her but that still didn't make it seem any better from his point of view

'Dumbass, one of the few conversations you had with her back then and you had to go and call her weird.'

Yori/Naruto took a second to think before responding, he didn't want to make anymore screw ups like he did in the past.

" Being weird isn't necessarily a bad thing. And besides if your weird than so am I." said Yori/Naruto trying to cheer her up.

Hinata shook her head and gave Yori/Naruto a gentle smile. " Th-Thank you for trying to cheer me up but your not weird."

Oh yeah. Is it normal for someone our age to be the leader of their village. said Naruto

Hinata took a few seconds to reply. That may not be normal, but it doesn't mean your weird it simply means your stronger than most people our age.

Yori/Naruto shook his head. " Hinata the amount of responsibility my job demands would cause most teens to have mental break downs and cry. The only reason I haven't is because I am weird."

They went on like this for some time. Yori/Naruto would tell her she wasn't weird or make himself out to be weirder while she would try to tell him he was wrong. Despite the fact that they were techniclly arguing Yori/Naruto had noticed that Hinata was smiling. Unfortunately Hinata had noticed the time.

" I'm sorry Yori but it's getting late." said Hinata

Yori/Naruto looked out at the sky and saw the sun setting. " I see. I didn't mean to take all your time."

Hinata blushed " It's alright. I-I really e-enjoyed my time ,thank you."

"I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one." replied Yori/Naruto

Yori/Naruto watched as Hinata waved good bye before leaving with her guard. Shortly afterwards Tayuya and Satoru made themselves known. He watched them walk out of the woods and took notice of the large grin and Tayuya's face.

Naruto let out a sigh. " Thank you for not bothering us, but I doubt your not going to tease me about this all the way back to Uzu."

Tayuya openly laughed at him. " You bet your fucking ass I will, hah I can't wait to tell Karin about this."

Naruto shook his head. " Hey Satoru can I borrow that shirt you were wearing the other day ago, you know the one with the snake."

" Sorry boss but I had to give that one up under a promise that if I ever wore it again every last one of my shirts would be burned, I doubt i have to tell you how hard those shirts are to find." said Satoru while glancing at Tayuya every now and then.

Tayuya adopted a wicked grin. " The next few days are going to be good."


	5. Chapter 5: A Goal Fulfilled And A Reamme

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Uesugi belongs to Trife while Satoru Yasuhiro is my OC

**Author's Note: It's good to see so many people enjoying the last chapter. It was easier to write than the last few thanks to it being shorter. Well this new chapter will be one many have waited on. One thing I want to point out to some people. I have the main plot of the story figured out, I already know what the main events are going to be and I also have the ending figured out. Just letting people know that I thought real hard on the story before even writing chapter one. There are of course some nicks and cuts in the story I've been fixing on the way but still it's been going great. I can't believe I have 220 people who have favorited my story. Thanks everyone. Well as I said before many of you have been waiting on this chapter so enjoy. **

Chapter 5: A Goal Fulfilled And A Reemerging Past

* * *

**Four months after the chunin exams. A mile away from Iron country**

Naruto groaned as he woke up staring at the roof of his tent. Speaking of tents he looked down towards his crotch and let out another groan.

'This is ironic, I've pitched a tent in a tent.'

For the past few weeks Naruto had been having dreams of a lavender eyed Hyuga. Sure enough as soon as Naruto, Tayuya and Satoru left Kiri Tayuya kept her word and teased Naruto the whole way back. Things didn't get any better when Karin was told about his mingling with Hinata. For the entire week after that they would take as many chances to tease him about it. Karin had gone so far as to make fake messages from the Hyuga council asking to arrange a marriage with him. One day Naruto had gotten a scroll from the Hyuga council and nearly had a heart attack when he saw that it wasn't another fake. He stopped panicking once he saw that it was simply a request that he and Hinata meet more often. He had grown to like Hinata from the few times they got to see each other and would admit she was beautiful. But marriage wasn't something he wanted to just jump into. Though that didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of the councils genorousity to see Hinata. Apparently the branch member that was sent to guard Hinata had given a thorough report of all he had saw. Thus the Hyuga council was hoping to increase Yori's and Hinata's relationship.

Over the past few month's when Naruto wasn't being buried in his job and Hinata wasn't on a mission they would meet up. Naruto had tried to make trips to Konoha to see her as much as possible, but thanks to his position as Uzukage it was Hinata that came to see him most of the time. Of course this only fueled Tayuya and Karin's teasing but he had begun to get used to it. Naruto was happy to see that he wasn't the only one taking advantage of the concils request as Hinata had used every chance she could to avoid other possible suitors. As time went on he had grown to like Hinata more and more. He was confused at first when he had begun having dreams of Hinata. Due to the nature of some of his dreams he thought that it was simply lust he felt for her. But after a while he began to realize that he cared for her. He wouldn't say that he loved her, there simply hadn't been enough time to know for sure at least as far as he was concerned.

Naruto sighed as he looked back at his tent's ceiling.

'Today's the day I achieve my goal. If everthing goes as planned I'll become an official kage and my village will be one of the great nations, but chances are once I reveal who I am I'll have alot of angry people to deal with.'

Naruto had sent a messenger nin back and forth to iron country asking to call for a meeting with the five kages. In order for his goal to be achieved he needed all the kages to recognize Uzu as one of the great nations, after which they would have to hold this meeting anyway so Naruto figured that he might as well get all five of them together and take care of two birds with one stone. Luckily the current leader of the samurai's had agreed to call the other kages and allow the meetings to take place.

Getting out of his make shift bed and getting dressed in his blue leather armor and long kimono he exited his tent. Karin had coached him on many things that he should or shouldn't do. One of those things was wearing his kage robes to the meeting. He didn't want to piss off the Tsuchikage and/or Raikage, and as it was wearing kage robes while he wasn't an official one would most likely do that. Karin had also made sure to help him rehearse his arguments and find ways around certain arguements that could keep him from being a kage. Naruto wouldn't admit it but he had been really nervous about today, thanks to Karin's help Naruto felt much better about the meeting.

Speaking of Karin she was awake and already had breakfast prepared.

"You worried about today?" she asked

Naruto laughed. " I'd be lying if I said no."

Karin nodded. " Never thought we would really be attempting this. I mean we've come so far in such a short amount of time."

"It's mostly thanks to you and Tayuya."

"Dumbass you don't give yourself enough credit." said Tayuya just as she got out of her tent.

Seeing that everyone was up, Karin began handing everyone their meals. They ate in silence as the pressure of what they were about to do crept up on them. Naruto had hid how nervous he was well but Karin and Tayuya had long ago picked up on nervous habits, such as his lack of appetite right now.

"So if everything goes well and you reveal who you really are... What's our escape plan?" asked Tayuya

Naruto and Karin turned their attention towards Tayuya. Out of all of them it was always easiest to tell when Tayuya was nervous or truly scared, simply because she didn't curse during those times.

"I've got a plan. It's rather simple though." said Naruto.

* * *

**Thirty minutes later/ Land of Iron**

As Naruto, Karin and Tayuya made their way to the meeting room they couldn't help but marvel at the inside structure of the Three Wolves mountain. The inside was smooth and though it looked like the inside of a large cave it held a aura of dignity. The samurais that were stationed around the struture seemed to wear full body armor and helmets that acted as gas masks. Once they arrived to their destination they found a room with a large circular table with seven chairs. Mifune most of the other kages were already there. As Naruto noticed that the only one not here was the Tsuchikage. Walking over He sat in the chair next to Gaara who happened to be sitting next to Mei. The two gave him a knowing look and Naruto simply nodded back at them. Naruto looked across the table towards the leader of Iron country. Mifune was a rather old man but was still quite able to fight skillfully. He had long gray hair that had bandages wrapped around the top. His face had several wrinkles and had a long goatee and mustache that hung down. His long kimono was of a light shade of purple.

From what Naruto could tell from the messages he read, Mifune was level headed and strict. Looking at Mifune once more, Naruto was thanking Karin. Mifune was going to be the mediator of this meeting and as such wouldn't allow things to get out of control or off topic. He wasn't going to be able to goad the others. If he was to succeed he would have to be to the point. Naruto began looking at the other kages to see if he could get a feel for how they were. Tsunade seemed calm but a little annoyed, not that he blamed her. She had the same anbu with her that she had last time except they weren't wearing their masks. Mei was chatting with Gaara but couldn't tell what the two were saying. The guards Mei brought was Chojuro and some guy with a eye patch. Gaara had brought his brother and sister along with him. Naruto looked towards the Raikage and his guards who were in the chair next to him. The man was very muscular and had very dark skin. He had white hair that had been slicked back and a small mustache and goatee. He wore no shirt underneath his kage robes and had a large gold belt with a boars face on it.

Naruto took his attention away from the Raikage just as the doors opened showing a very short man wearing a strange green and yellow coat with a red collar. Looking towards the old mans face he couldn't stop the sweat-drop that formed on his face.

' What the hell is with everyone above the age of forty deciding to grow a mustache and goatee.' thought Naruto

Taking his attention off of the man's facial hair he noticed the swollen red nose and bold scalp. The man did have some hair but only on the sides and at the back where it was tied up in a bun with a yellow ribbon. The man took a seat in the last chair, though do to his size the Tsuchikage had to get something extra to sit on. Seeing that everyone was present Mifune raised his hand to begin the meeting.

"As you all know you've all been called here to discuss whether Uzu should be apart of the great nations." stated Mifune

The Tsuchikage scoffed as he heard this. "I've always hated these meetings, but to think we're going to seriously discuss allowing such a small country to be recognized is absurd."

Naruto looked around gauging how the others reacted to the statement. The Raikage seemed to be in a agreement, Gaara and Tsunade seemed oblivious to it while Mei seemed to be a little unnerved by it. He couldn't blame her seeing as Kiri wasn't that much bigger than Uzu.

Deciding to make his argument Naruto spoke. " I'm Yori Uzumaki, the leader of Uzu. And as far as my country's size goes you should take a look at this map and these documents."

Karin pulled out the documents and map and passed them to Yori/Naruto, He passed them to the other kages for them to pass around as well. Once everyone finished looking over the papers Yori/Naruto went on.

"As you can see Hot springs country has become a part of Uzu. With both countries size together we're just as big as Water country." said Naruto retrieving the documents and handing them back to Karin.

The Raikage looked towards Yori/Naruto. "If I remember correctly your country was destroyed once before, what's to stop it from happening again? Increasing your territory doesn't mean your village will be able to defend themselves from attacks."

"He has a point." stated Mifune

Yori/Naruto nodded his head. " Though it was destroyed once that was due highly to the fact that several villages were involved with it's destruction out of fear. I know that some nins from Konoha, Iwa, and Kumo have tried to sneak into my village several times. This is not the same Uzu, I've gathered together a great number of ninjas for my village. We haven't participated in any chunin exams, but this doesn't mean I don't have powerful ninja's."

"I can testify to witnessing one ninja of Uzu who single handily held off and killed one of Suna's S rank missing nin Sasori of the red sand." said Gaara stretching the truth slightly.

This shocked many in the room. Sasori was a well known nin for his skills, for someone to be able to actually hold their ground against him would be amazing indeed. The Tsuchikage tried to act unimpressed.

Yori/Naruto smirked. 'I guess I might as well bring in my trump card.' "Karin please give me a hand."

Karin nodded understanding what he meant, she reach into her bag and handed him a black scroll. Yori/Naruto placed the scroll on the table and unrolled it in front of him revealing a seal.

Some of the kages guards looked like they would jump to attack any second.

"While we're on the subject I'd like to show the Tsuchikage something." said Yori/Naruto

He pricked his finger and swiped some blood across the seal. A small puff of smoke appeared and dissipated revealing a clear canister. Within the canister was a severed arm with some kind of liquid keeping it from rotting. Several looked at the arm puzzled excluding Gaara and the Tsuchikage who recognized it.

"Are you trying to threaten me" growled the Tsuchikage.

Yori/Naruto smirked. "I'm glad to see you recognize Deidara's arm. After I killed him I kept his arm due to his unique ability."

Mifune choose to interrupt. " Uzumaki I hope you realize that angering others won't convince them to recognize your village."

"I know that Mifune but I'm not trying to anger the Tsuchikage. I intend to make a proposal to him." replied Yori/Naruto.

The Tsuchikage raised a eye brow at this. " And what exactly would this proposal of yours be?"

Yori/Naruto resealed the arm before handing the scroll back to Karin.

" Before I explain my proposal let me inform you what some of my med nins discovered about Deidara's arms. It's rather interesting of what we discovered. Apparently Deidara had the ability to use his chakra to cause explosions something that was associated with his blood limit, but his ability to put his chakra into clay was not. Given enough time me and my med nins could probably find a way to pass this ability on to others with further study on Deidara's hands. And I'm sure my allies would like me to pass on my findings" said Yori/Naruto giving Gaara, Mei, and Tsunade each a nod.

The kages were all interested in hearing what Yori/Naruto was saying. The Tsuchikage on the other hand was furious and slightly nervous.

The small kage let out a grunt. "Are you trying to bribe me."

Yori/Naruto shook his head. "No, as I said earlier I simply want to make a proposal. I give you Deidara's arm to do with as you please and in return you recognize my village as one of the great nations. In the end it's your choice."

The Tsuchikage was wondering why Mifune had done nothing to stop this. Anyone could easily see that this was black mail. Mifune just stared on, in truth this was a ninja affair, and tricks like this were expected. To Mifune, Yori/Naruto was just simply proving that he and his ninja were not to be underestimated. Despite his samurai way of life he had to admire what Yori/Naruto was doing. He was forcing someone who would do everything he could to prevent Uzu from being recognized to do the opposite or have one of his villages secrets spread out to the other villages.

"FINE. I'll agree to your _proposal!_" said The Tsuchikage while holding his hand out for the scroll.

Yori/Naruto smirked. "That's good to hear. I'll give you the scroll after this meeting is over."

The Tsuchikage was pissed but nodded. The Raikage was staying neutral but didn't like what happened.

"I'll admit you have a way with words. But what would happen if a village were to declare war on Uzu. What would you do then?" asked the Raikage

The kage's all turned their attention to Yori/Naruto. Hearing him chuckle was the last thing they expected.

"Trust me Raikage, that's the last thing you want to do. Kumo is located not too far from Uzu, but Kiri is just as close."

Mei smiled hearing this. "Yori is right about that Raikage, the fact that Uzu and Kiri surround Kumo doesn't help. And if you were to declare war on Uzu you would also be declaring war on Kiri due to the agreement me and Yori made when creating our alliance."

The Raikage looked confused. "Why is Kiri and Uzu allied? Due to the fact that both villages are located on islands it would make more sense that you two would be enemies out of fear that your funds from over sea trades would diminish."

Yori/Naruto looked towards Mei and gave her the go ahead to answer for them. As it was he would be the main person talking today, the less talking he had to do the better.

"If you must know it's because Yori helped me take out Kiri's previous Mizukage Yagura. It's true that Uzu and Kiri have similar resources, but at the same time there are resources in Uzu that can't be found in Kiri and vice versa." said Mei

Tsunade decided to point something out. "You said Yori helped you kill your previous Mizukage. That's not exactly something a village leader should do."

Mei turned her attention to Tsunade. "Yagura was a tyrant, he started the blood line massacre which started a civil war in our village. Many of our nin went rogue because of it. If Yori didn't help us when he did we'd probably still be recovering."

Tsunade nodded her head at hearing this. "I understand, though the fact he mettled in another village's politics has me concerned. If one of our villages were to have a civil war of their own would Yori interfere in it as well?"

Deciding he didn't like where this was going Yori/Naruto decided to speak up. "Back when I helped Mei fight Yagura I wasn't a village leader. My village wasn't even truly formed back then. I had helped Mei in hopes of getting an early alliance with Kiri and having support should another village get word of Uzu and try to destroy us. As of right now I wouldn't be able to just up and go to another village to solve it's problems when I have the responsibility of my own village to worry about."

Tsunade thought for a second before replying. "I guess that is true, but what would stop you from sending ninja to assist other rebellions."

"Again, back when I helped Mei I didn't have a village to worry about. My actions today could put my village in danger. If I sent out a squad of ninja to assist a rebellion and they were discovered, the village leader would most likely target my village. I'm not saying that Uzu isn't strong enough to defend itself, but I don't want to start senseless wars." said Yori/Naruto.

Tsunade smiled. " Thank you, that's all I was concerned about."

"If you don't mind I believe we should get back to the question of Uzu's military might. " stated Mifune.

Everyone nodded. The meeting went on for several hours. Yori/Naruto had to show mission records and bounties his ninja had claimed. Luckily Karin had brought along all the documents needed to prove such things. Of course Yori/Naruto didn't reveal anything that would give away too much about his village. The Tsuchikage remained quiet throughout the entire meeting while the Raikage had asked several questions and made several random comments, some positive and some negative. Tsunade had only asked a few questions but nothing that seemed to damage Uzu's chances. And as Yori/Naruto expected Gaara and Mei were giving him their full support. At some point Mifune put the meeting on hold for a break to allow the kages to think before the final decision would be made.

* * *

**A random hallway **

Just as some of the other kage's and their guards Naruto, Tayuya and Karin went away from the meeting room. He had expected it to take awhile but was still annoyed.

"Dammit, I hope they don't try to prolong this." said Tayuya

Karin just sighed.

Naruto shook his head. "I think for once Tayuya we all agree with you. Although if the Raikage asks me another damn question I might just declare war on Kumo!"

"Calm down Yori. He's just doing his job as his village's kage. It's not like old times when there were plenty of wars that determined all this. Besides with what you did with the Tsuchikage and how obvious it is that you have the Mizukage and Kazekage on your side someone has to make sure your qualified to be a kage." said Karin

Tayuya snorted hearing that. " Well at least he's the only one we really have to worry about."

"I have to admit that I'm surprised that all five of them showed up." mentioned Naruto

Karin nodded. "It's probably has something to do with their vote being dismissed due to their absence. Speaking of vote we should get back to the meeting."

Naruto smirked. "Wait Karin not just yet."

Karin and Tayuya looked at Naruto both confused.

* * *

**A few minutes later back in the meeting room**

Yori/Naruto, Tayuya and Karin walked back in to find everyone else already seated and waiting on him. The Tsuchikage eyed the canister Yori/Naruto was holding the entire time. As soon as Yori/Naruto sat down Mifune cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"As I'm sure we're all ready to finish this meeting I'll get to the point. No more discussions, each of you will give your decision and the reason behind it." said Mifune pointing towards Tsunade to start.

"I vote for Uzu to become one of the great nations. From what we've seen Uzu has been doing great. It's not like it has a lack of funds and even if it were to go through some rough times it would have hot spring country to fall back on. One of my men have tried to have spies infiltrate Uzu only to be discovered and sent back." Tsunade turned to the Tsuchikage and gave him the go ahead.

"What are you looking at me for. It's not like everyone doesn't already know my vote." answered The Tsuchikage.

Mifune shook his head. "State your vote, I don't want any arguments after this."

The Tsuchikage snorted. "Fine. I vote that Uzu becomes one of the great nations. It's clear he has ways to achieve what he wants."

Gaara saw it was his turn. "I vote for Uzu to become one of the great nations. I have personally witnessed what his ninja are capable of."

"I vote for Uzu to become one of the great nations. I have seen what he and his ninja are capable of. That was a few years ago, they could have only become better with time." said Mei

Yori/Naruto looked towards the Raikage. From what he gathered from the meeting the giant kage was a rather gruff man. He didn't like the fact that just one man's decision could keep him from achieving his goal.

The Raikage took a few seconds to think before answering. "My and Uzu's ninja have crossed path's many times in the past, mostly due to being hired by conflicting employers. I have heard much about your ninja and the documents you brought before us has only proven what I thought. I don't like what you did to force the Tsuchikage's hand, but this is the world of ninja. Therefore I vote for Uzu to become one of the great elemental nations."

Mifune turned his attention to Yori/Naruto. "With that over with this meeting is over. Uzu is now one of the great nations and now has it's right to have a Uzukage."

Yori/Naruto smiled hearing this and signaled for Karin to give the Tsuchikage Deidara's arm. Once he had the arm the Tsuchikage seemed a little less nervous and actually smiled, though the smile seemed rather vicious.

Yori/Naruto took a deep breath before speaking. "Thank you Mifune and everyone else. But there is something I need to say."

Everyone looked at him somewhat confused or worried except for Gaara and Mei.

Yori/Naruto gulped as he saw Tsunade stare at him. " It is with... great pleasure that I... Naruto Uzumaki take up the mantle of Uzukage."

Some of the people gave disinterested looks while the others looks varied. Mei smiled and Gaara had a slight smile till he looked at Tsunade's face and actually held up a hand to cover his snicker. Tsunade was frozen from shock. Unfortunately this only last for a few seconds longer.

* * *

**A few miles away from Iron country**

Naruto suddenly stopped as he recieved information from the shadow clones he left back at the meeting.

"Hey Naruto what the hell is wrong?" asked Tayuya

Naruto gave them a nervous look. "We should start running... As in NOW."

"Why what is going?" asked Karin

Naruto took a second to start dashing across the land scape and waited till Tayuya and Karin caught up to answer.

"The good news is that Uzu is official apart of the great nations. Also I no longer have to go by the name of Yori thanks to all the kages knowing my real name now. Which brings me to the bad news, Tsunade is pissed, really, really pissed."

Tayuya and Karin nodded in understanding and began running faster. Naruto had talked about the Sannin he always called grandma Tsunade several times. One of the things he mentioned was how she sent him flying once by simply flicking him in the forehead with one finger. They didn't want to find out what she could do with her whole fist while angry.

* * *

**Several hours later**

After traveling for so far they decided it would be ok to stop at a town. Once they bought a hotel room Naruto left to walk around. He assumed that Tayuya and Karin would do the same considering that there was still some time before night. As he walked he couldn't help but think about all that happened today. A smile crossed his face when he thought about officially being Uzukage but quickly dissapeared when he thought about his eventually confrontation with Tsunade. He wasn't planning on just avoiding her and Konoha.

'That would only cause her to come to Uzu. And there are plenty of others I need to talk to, especially Hinata.'

The thought of Hinata made him feel nervous. Tsunade had been pissed when she discovered who he really was. Would Hinata feel the same way? Naruto took a second to clear his mind. He didn't need to go back to feeling guilty all the time. Looking towards the sky he saw the moon just barely visible above the horizon. Naruto's head suddenly whipped around facing towards the direction of the hotel they were staying at. He didn't know why but something wasn't right.

**A few blocks away from the hotel**

Just as Naruto thought Tayuya and Karin had left had shortly after him. Tayuya was heading towards a bar while Karin decided to go to a book store. She spent most her time just window shopping but eventually left with two romance novels. She wasn't like Naruto who had endless amounts of energy or Tayuya who liked to stay out late so she began to back to the hotel. But as she rounded a corner she felt a chakra far too similar to a person she didn't ever want to meet again.

"Hello Karin."

She couldn't help but blink. She recognized the voice, but his chakra was felt so different from the last time she met him. She slowly turned around.

"Sasuke?" she asked.

Once Karin fully turned around she saw that it was definitely Sasuke. He had medium length black hair with matching eyes. His attire consisted of a grey sleeveless shirt and black pants. Hanging from his waist was a blue cloth that had purple rope tied in a bow. A straight katana was slipped behind him in between the purple rope and the blue cloth.

"What are you doing here?" asked Karin

Sasuke didn't immediately respond. "I'm looking for my brother."

Karin looked away. "I see, well good luck."

She tried to walk a away but Sasuke stopped her. "I need your help."

Karin looked back at Sasuke. "What did you say?"

He took a few steps closing the gap between them. "I need your chakra sensing ability to find him."

"Sasuke I'm sorry but I can't help you, I'm part of a village that depends on me." said Karin

Turning around once more to leave she began walking away only for Sasuke to grab her arm.

"Karin, your the only one I know that can actually help me find Itachi." said Sasuke

In truth Karin was touched to hear him say that, but. "Sasuke that doesn't change that my village needs me and I can't just leave." 'I also can't leave Naruto when he's going to need me more than ever.'

Hoping to finally end the conversation she went to walk away, but she forgot about Sasuke's grip on her arm.

"Please let go of my arm." she told him

Karin made a few attempts to pull away but found that he had no intention of letting go. Looking towards his face she saw his eyes closed as if thinking about something. He opened his eyes to reveal two red eyes each one with three tomoe.

Sasuke glared at Karin with his sharingon. "I'm no longer asking Karin. You can either come along willingly or I can knock you out and carry you away!"

Suddenly she wished she had trained like Naruto and the others did. She felt helpless in this situation. She was about to make one last effort to get away, this time by any means possible but was stopped when a killing intent strong enough to make even Sasuke flinch went off.

"Threaten her again Sasuke and I'll turn you into the living definition of the three wise monkeys!" ( Author's note: In case those of you don't know what the three wise monkeys are. they are three monkeys that each cover a different part of their head that symbolize see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.)

Sasuke spun around to see a man shadowed by the moon. The only thing Sasuke could see was the man's red slitted eyes. It didn't take long for him to remember where he saw those eyes before.

"Naruto, I'm curious as to why your here?"

Sasuke had accidentally let go of Karin's arm when the killing intent flowing off of Naruto increased greatly. Karin finally free slowly moved around until she was directly behind Naruto. The two red eyed teens stared at one another for several minutes before Naruto decided to break the silence.

"I'll warn you once and only once. Stay. Away. From Karin!" said Naruto in a voice that promised all kinds of harm.

Sasuke had been trying to cast a genjutsu on Naruto the entire time, only to realize that Karin was pumping chakra into Naruto and disrupting the his illusions before they could even take effect. Karin was shocked when Sasuke had left without a word. Naruto and Karin had done nothing but watch Sasuke as he left, neither one of them believing that Sasuke would just leave without trying something. Once he was out of sight the two visibly calmed. Naruto turned towards Karin, his eyes back to their blue color.

"Karin lets go get a bite to eat."

He began walking away with Karin simply following. When they get to a small ramen stand they ordered their meals and stayed quiet for the most part.

"When have you met Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

Karin took a bite of the food that was sat down in front of her. " Back when I was in Oto, Orochimaru sent him to help me bring back some prisoners that escaped. What about you?"

"When I was a Konoha nin we were part of the same team. Back then I could say we were many things, rivals, friends, team mates. Now a days I'm not sure what to call him." said Naruto rather sadly.

He didn't feel like talking about Sasuke anymore but felt he needed to know more.

"Karin, when he was talking to you, you seemed hesitant to be more forceful about telling him no, why?" asked Naruto

Karin looked down avoiding Naruto's gaze. "Mostly shock, somewhat because of a crush I have for him or had for him."

Naruto looked confused. " Why were you shocked?"

"His chakra felt similar to Orochimaru. The worst part was that it actually felt like he was standing in front of me and at the same time so was Sasuke." said Karin barely above a whisper

"There's no way that was Orochimaru. The fact that Sasuke left was proof enough of that." commented Naruto

Karin looked back towards Naruto. "I know that, but still his chakra has changed so much since I've last met him. And why did he just leave?"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know really. Despite the fact that I threatened him I was expecting him to at least start a fight."

"Do you think he'll leave us alone?" asked Karin. She had met Sasuke only once while Naruto had been around the Uchiha much more.

" I doubt it. He's just as stubborn as me when he really wants something." replied Naruto

They stayed silent for some time. Suddenly a thought came to Karin

"Shouldn't we go find Tayuya and warn her that Sasuke is here."

The laugh that came out of Naruto surprised her. " I don't really think we need to."

Seeing Karin's confused face Naruto decided to add to his comment. " If Sasuke tries to approach Tayuya he'll be wishing that Konoha had captured him."

"And why is that?" asked Karin curiously

Naruto began laughing again. "Well it goes back to when Tayuya was part of the sound four. Orochimaru had sent the sound four to go get Sasuke and bring him to Oto. Well me and a few others were sent to chase after them and bring Sasuke back. Tayuya at some point had to fight against a friend of mine. At some point during the fight my friend got back up from Temari who had used some summoning to cut down a large portion of the trees in the area they were fighting in. Tayuya had been unfortunate and had been nearly crushed to death under all the trees, which left her in bad shape for a long time. Ironically she doesn't blame her opponents but Sasuke and Orochimaru instead. If she see Sasuke I'm sure she'll tear him apart."

Karin couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face. "I hope for your sake she never finds out that you were part of the team."

"Heh, she already knows." said Naruto happy that the mood was picking up.

Letting out a sigh Karin voiced her thoughts. "If Sasuke has no intentions of leaving us alone what should we do?"

"Nothing. I've warned him to stay away from you and if he doesn't listen I'll simply take care of things." said Naruto as if nothing was wrong

She shook her head and let out another sigh. "Maybe we should take shifts in case he tries to approach our hotel room."

"If you feel better about it that way, but I get first watch." said Naruto

Karin was about to protest but stopped when she saw the serious look in his eyes. She simply nodded her head to let him know she understood. Once they finished eating they went back to the hotel room.

* * *

**An hour later**

At the moment Naruto was sitting in a chair he set in the corner of the room. He watched over Karin as she slept and wondered where Tayuya was. Though it was possible he doubted that her and Sasuke got into a fight. It was far too quiet for that to have happened. It was odd, after three years of neither seeing or hearing about Sasuke he suddenly comes across him, threatening his sister. Naruto had to calm himself to keep his killer intent from flooding the room. He didn't want to wake up Karin, in truth he had no intention of resting till Tayuya got back. The thought of Sasuke reminded him of his promise to Sakura. Yet another person who would be angry at him once she figured out that he was Yori all along.

'At least I'll be expecting her to hit me.' he thought sadly

Karin shifted in her bed drawing his attention. He smiled when he saw her face being illuminated by the moon's light. It was funny how Karin looked very much like Tayuya when she wasn't wearing her glasses. Getting up Naruto walked over to Karin's bed and picked up her head band before walking over to the window. He looked out the window for a few seconds firmly holding onto the head band and tracing the spiral on it.

* * *

**Another Hotel nearby**

Sasuke had followed Naruto and Karin to their hotel and watched as they entered their room. Afterwards he checked into one of the hotels across the street and picked a room that would have a window facing towards Naruto's room. He had hated to sneak around like this but he had no choice. After he had absorbed Orochimaru into him he formed a team to help him hunt down Itachi, he had wanted Karin to join as well but she had dissapeared about a two years ago. Funny how he finds her with Naruto of all people. Unfortionately earlier today he and his team had run into Kakashi and most of his ex classmates. A fight broke out and in the end Sasuke had to abandon his team in order to escape. Imagine his luck when he spotted Karin in the same town he hid in. He would have fought Naruto earlier but he didn't want any Konoha nins to get any leads on his location, it had been hard enough to spread his scent so Kiba wouldn't be able to track him.

He watched as Naruto sat in the corner of the room. When Naruto confronted him he didn't get a good look at him. In truth he wouldn't even recognize him if it weren't for the familiar killing intent or his red slitted eyes. Sasuke looked back waiting on Naruto to either get too tired or switch out with Karin. If he had to fight him he wanted it to be quick and quiet hopefully giving him enough time to get away before he caused too much commotion. Seeing Naruto approach the window he quickly moved out of view using a well polished kunai to continue watching. After a while Naruto left the window walked out of view and towards the rest room. Shortly after he returned to his chair and continued watching.

This went on for about ten more minutes. Sasuke turned around when he heard a knock at the door. Taking small, silent steps he walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. On the other side of the door was one of the hotel workers waiting patiently while holding a small tray of assorted snacks.

Opening the door Sasuke got straight to the point. "Why are you bothering me?"

The hotel worker gave a polite nod. "I'm sorry sir, but my employer has asked me to insure all guest are given these complimentary trays. I saw your light was still on and decided to give you yours before hand."

Sasuke stared at the tray before he accepted it and placed it on a nearby table. He grabbed one of the ' do not disturb' signs and hung it on his door before closing it. He looked back out the window to see that Naruto was still sitting in his corner. Once again someone began knocking on his door. He recognized it as the same knock as the hotel worker's and ignored it. The knocking kept going while slowly eating away at Sasuke's patience. Seeing that the man wouldn't go away Sasuke got out of his chair and began stomping his way towards the door.

He grabbed the handle and yanked. "I put the sign up for a!"

The second his door opened his face was introduced to a blue leather covered fist. Naruto quickly walked into the room closing the door behind him and locking it. Sasuke looked at Naruto and prepared to put him into a genjutsu but stopped when he noticed that Naruto had covered his eyes with a Uzu headband. Seeing that he was fighting a blind opponent Sasuke couldn't help but scoff. He quietly moved to grabbed his sword he had leaning on the wall.

What Sasuke didn't know was that Naruto was using the water molecules in the air that he mixed with his chakra to detect people and objects around him. When Naruto felt Sasuke edging closer to his blade he quickly ran over to Sasuke and put himself between the teen and his sword. Seeing his path blocked he quickly threw a punch at Naruto. The punch hit Naruto and Sasuke went to sweep kick Naruto while he wasn't balance. Naruto spun with the punch he received and used the momentum to lash a kick out aiming for Sauske's stomach. Instead due to Sasuke position with his sweep he ended up being hit in the face.

Sasuke stumbled back from the kick. Naruto not wasting any time quickly used his shoulder to ram Sasuke into the wall and pinned him there. Using his free hand to land several blows to Sasuke's sides. Not wanting to be a punching bag Sasuke slammed his knee into Naruto's stomach returning one of the blows and followed up with kick to the underside of his knee. The kick forced Naruto's knees to buckle and touch the ground. Before Naruto could get up Sasuke had jumped over him and wrapped his arm around his neck putting him in a choke hold. Sasuke squeezed down cutting off Naruto's air.

Trying to break free of the hold Naruto began slamming his elbow into Sasuke's exposed stomach. The hits to his body hurt but Sasuke refused to let go of his grip. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up, if he could knock out Naruto he'd be able to just grab Karin and go. Naruto could feel himself getting dizzy and slowly fading away. Using all his strength he knelt down closer to the ground and kicked off the ground sending him and Sasuke to crash through the table set up near the door.

Naruto gasped for breathe the second Sasuke's hold loosened. He quickly got up and tossed Sasuke over to the other side of the room to put some distance between them. Taking this time Naruto began catching his breathe. While this happened Sasuke quickly got up and grabbed his sword. He quickly unsheathed it and charged it with lightning. That crash they caused earlier had most likely alert several people in the building, trying to not draw attention was no longer an option. He dashed across the room and went to stab Naruto. Having sensed Sasuke, Naruto had twisted his body barely dodging the blade. The sword had cleaved through the door as if it were paper and Sasuke felt dread when he felt it go through something else.

The blood curdling scream only verified his fear. He quickly turned to jump out the window but was kicked through the door by Naruto. Realizing that it would only be a matter of minutes before the local law or even nearby leaf nin came to inspect what happened Sasuke quickly got up and ran for the Nearest exit with Naruto chasing him. Having come to a set of stairs Sasuke spun his elbow. Naruto ducked under it and tackled Sasuke sending them both to tumble down the stairs.

Once they hit the ground Sasuke rolled away desperate to get away. He ran down the hall and went through seven hand signs. Having finished he turned around and looked towards Naruto.

**"Fire style: Great fire ball Jutsu." **

A giant flame ball barreled down the hallway. One of the hotel guest opened his door to see what the commotion was only for Naruto to tackle him back into his room. Once the attack had passed by Naruto ran back out to find that Sasuke was no longer in the hotel. A few seconds later the fire alarm went off and sprinklers sprayed water everywhere dousing the flames created from the attack. Seeing that Sasuke was long gone Naruto left the hotel and quickly made his way to his hotel. His shadow clone didn't disperse so he knew everything was ok but he didn't want to risk anything. He took off Karin's head band feeling that he no longer needed it.

* * *

Naruto quietly climbed through the bathroom window and walked over to the door. He saw his shadow clone over in the corner which dispersed once it saw him and noticed Karin still sleeping in her bed. What he also noticed was Tayuya looking at him questionably.

"You look like shit." whispered Tayuya.

Taking a seat in the chair his clone once occupied he decided to fill her in on what happened while she was out enjoying her night. He told her how he found Sasuke threatening Karin, how he knew that Sasuke was following them, and how he decided to give Sasuke a visit to enforce his promise.

Tayuya went to the bathroom, grabbed a wash cloth, and dampened it. She came back and began to clean Naruto's face. He normally would protest against something like this but he was too tired to. Besides it felt good.

"I can't believe you allowed that asshole to beat you this badly." said Tayuya shaking her head.

Naruto had a busted lip, a few bruises, and a long gash on the side of his face.

He chuckled. " Well for one I wasn't trying to kill him, only inflict as much pain on him as I could without knocking him out. Point two Sasuke didn't do this to me, the trip down the stairs did. And point three is if you think I look bad you should take a look at Sasuke, at least I won't be pissing blood for the next three weeks."

Tayuya's grin had gone from one side of her face to the other.

"You really beat the shit out of his kidneys didn't you."

The grin on Naruto's face matched Tayuya's. "Well as you try to make some people know you can be a crazy bitch. I made sure he knew I could be a scary bastard."

The two had to cover their mouth's to stifle the laughter that threatened to erupt from them

* * *

**Author's note: I want everyone to know that I have nothing against Sasuke. I don't like him but at the same time I don't hate him. I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter and don't worry next chapter will be about Naruto going to Konoha to confront all those he lied to. Please read and review.**


	6. Chapter 6: Deja vu

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Uesugi belongs to Trife. Satoru Yasuhiro is my OC.

Author's Note: Well we finally get to the part that everyone has been dying to see. Hopefully it lives up to everyones expectations. I want to point out a few things though. Some of you have said that Naruto isn't strong enough to be a kage. In truth I don't see how any one can really think that considering that you only have one real fight to base his strength off of and that's the fight with Deidara. Any one fighting Deidara would have a hard time, I mean he has a giant clay bird he can fly on. Gaara is a Kage as well and he lost to him. I don't count the fight with Sasuke because Naruto was only using Taijutsu and wasn't trying to kill him. I'm trying not to be the type of writer that has Naruto just blasting a ton of high level jutsu off to show his strength and I've already said that Naruto would not be god like.

Now for a few words to specific reviewers

to Rosetiger: Alright I think I have Jiraiya's name spelled right this time. I mean I only double checked his name six times over. I don't know why I keep spelling his name wrong.

to Cafard: Yeah I agree with you about the whole Kyubi thing. I never really like the story when the Nine tails fox is a nice guy or some one makes it female. It might just be my opinion but I think it makes it uninteresting.

Hachibihorn: Although you pm me your review I'm glad to have reviewers like you and Illidan halfdemon. I need reviewers like you two to help motivate me to continue writing. I don't ever plan to quite on this story till it's finished but as I said before this is harder than I thought it would be and the good reviews help motivate me.

Well thats all I wanted to say. Enjoy the chapter and please review.

Chapter 6: Deja vu

* * *

Naruto gulped as he approached Konoha's gate. Ever since he got within a mile of it he could swear he felt some form of collective rage being aimed at him. He felt some what better wearing his Kage robes but still couldn't help but feel that he was walking to his death. Karin and Tayuya were walking with him as were Katsuo and Satoru. A group of Naruto's four best Anbu followed behind as well much to Naruto's dismay. He didn't want to make it look like he was planning to attack anyone in Konoha but Karin had argued with him repeatedly about bringing them to the point that she actually started to beg him to.

As they approached the gates Naruto saw the guard flinch when he noticed them.

"Sir you do realize that Lady Hokage plans to rip you a new one."

Naruto nodded at the guard. "I wouldn't doubt it. Can you please let her know that I'm here?"

"Yeah just give me a moment, man are you going to get it." said the guard shaking his head.

After a Anbu had come and seen what the gate guard had called for he left without even a word said. A few minutes later Naruto felt the rage increase and if he didn't know any better he swore that the guard felt it as well. It only took Tsunade a few seconds to reach the gate. Naruto couldn't help but smile when he didn't see any signs of depression like he saw the last time he came. The smell of sake wasn't masked by perfume and she had gone back to putting her hair into twin pony tails.

"Hey Grandma Tsunade." said Naruto though his voice sounded rather meek.

The Uzu Anbu immediately surrounded their Kage when they saw Tsunade begin to walk forward. The Konoha Anbu hidden couldn't help but flinch as they watched. Naruto had given his Anbu the sign to back off.

"Follow me to my office!" demanded Tsunade

"Sure. I rather our talk not be out in the open." replied Naruto

Tsunade began walking back to her office while Naruto and the others followed. As they walked Naruto observed how the citizens reacted to his presence. As he thought there were many now giving him the cold glares he was accustomed to when he was a kid. Though he was surprised to see some people that had simply just smiled in his direction and move on. The Uzu Anbu saw the glares and positioned themselves around Naruto and the others.

Naruto smiled seeing this. He had made it a law that only Jonin ranked ninja and above knew of his burden. The fact that his ninja would try to guard him from even glares despite knowing about his demon brought a warm feeling to his heart. As they approached the Hokage tower Naruto couldn't help but be reminded about Tsunade's reaction at the meeting in Iron country. His shudder didn't go unnoticed by Tayuya and Karin. They really felt bad for him.

Tsunade stopped once they reached her office door. She turned around and leveled a commanding look towards her Anbu.

"No one is to enter except Me and Naruto."

Naruto looked towards his members except he was gentle about it. "That goes for you guys as well."

He entered the office and Tsunade slammed the door shut.

* * *

Naruto closed his eyes waiting for the punch to come. Tsunade just walked over to her desk and sat down.

"SIT." she told him

Opening his eyes he saw Tsunade pointing to a chair positioned in front of her desk. He walked over confused and did as she said. She pulled out a sake bottle and began to pour herself a glass. After she downed the drank she looked back at Naruto.

"You better start explaining yourself. Starting on why would be the best thing right now." said Tsunade

Naruto was glad he was being given a chance to explain himself, but the tone of her voice nearly made him want to run right now.

"When I was on my training trip with Jiraiya I found his diary. I found out about my parents, and when in Hot spring country I found Uzu. I wanted to bring my village back and I want to bring my clan back."

Tsunade slammed a balled fist onto her desk. "I don't care about that. Tell me why. Why did you... why did you leave us?

Looking at her Naruto could see she was shaking. "That is the reason I left Gran."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT." shouted Tsunade

"Do you have any idea how I felt when Jiraiya told me you went missing? Do you have any idea how your friends felt?" she said low but angry voice

She poured herself another glass of sake despite her trembling hands.

"Do you have any idea how much it killed me to fill out the forms stating your death?" she cried

Naruto had stayed quiet throughout her questions. He had tried to think of several ways to apologize on his way here, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"I was stupid back then."

"Your damn right you were!" interrupted Tsunade

Naruto continued on. "I didn't think of how I would hurt anyone by doing this."

Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw tears roll down his face matching hers.

"But do you think you were the only one that hurt from this? By the time that I found out that I was hurting you I couldn't do anything about it. It hurt... It hurt like hell!"

Tsunade wiped away her tears before glaring at Naruto again.

"If you knew why didn't you come back? WHY?"

Naruto took a second to calm himself. "You know better than anyone. I'm the Uzukage, I can't just leave my village... no matter how badly I wanted to."

Tsunade went to grab the sake bottle again but was stopped when Naruto grabbed both the bottle and the glass. He poured himself a glass before handing the bottle back to her. She reached into her desk and pulled out a spare glass.

* * *

**Outside of the office**

Both the Uzu and Konoha nins were on edge and were ready to burst through the door despite what their respective Kage told them. The fact that the room had gone deathly quiet and had stayed that way for several minutes wasn't helping. The Konoha nins had increased thanks to the news that Naruto was around.

Several of the rookie nine had shown up and Shikamaru had paled when he saw Tayuya. Said red head had ignored Shikamaru's presence all together, at the moment she was more concerned with what was going on the other side of the door. One of the Konoha Anbu had reach for the door but was stopped by a Uzu Anbu who simply shook his head. The silence went on for several more minutes before Naruto and Tsunade began talking again, though they couldn't tell what was being said. Both sides suddenly stared at the doors confused when they heard two sets of laughter come from them.

* * *

**Back inside the office**

They had spent the last few minutes simply drinking sake. After a while Tsunade looked back to Naruto.

"So... what all happened for the past three years?" she asked still a little angry

Naruto smiled a little. During the long silence he was afraid that Tsunade wasn't going to forgive him. His hope went up slightly when he heard her question. Taking a few second to clear his mind he began telling her everything that happened. As he talked he noticed that Tsunade had started to smile and seemed to calmed down considerably. He told her everything up to the point of his first trip back to Konoha.

She had started laughing. "Of course you of all people would be able to steal from two of your enemies and use them to your advantage."

Naruto laughed with her. "Yeah I really should thank Orochimaru and Akatsuki."

They both laughed harder.

Once Naruto caught his breathe he looked sadly at Tsunade. "Do you forgive me?"

Tsunade let out a sigh and nodded. "I can't stay mad at you. But you better stay in contact. If I could I'd force you to stay here, but thanks to that stunt you pulled back in Iron country I can't Mr. Uzukage."

"Sorry about that. I'm surprised you didn't try to hit me when I got here." said Naruto

Tsunade took another sip of her sake. "Well I took much of my frustration out on your shadow clones."

"Trust me I know better than anyone." said Naruto under his breathe

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"Nothing!" said Naruto immediately

She chuckled hearing his response. "That's what I thought."

They stayed silent for a few seconds.

"You do realize that you have several others to talk to. Sakura thinks your like Sasuke and abandoned her. Kakashi believes he's cursed, he's the sole survivor of his team and then when he gets a Genin team of his own just for two of it's members to leave. You can't really blame him. Then there's Hinata. I know all about you two meeting up frequently. You owe her more than anyone an explanation. I'm not going to list everyone you should see, you should know who all to see." said Tsunade

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I've got a long list. By the way... who is your student again?"

"Sakura." replied Tsunade with a little humor knowing full well why he asked.

He shook his head. "Figures." 'FUCK!'

Getting out of his chair he walked over to the double doors. "I'll be back later, got lots to do."

Tsunade nodded letting him know she understood. As Naruto opened the door he saw several people jump away from the door. He raised a eyebrow seeing this. Deciding it would be best to let everyone know they had nothing to worry about.

"Everything's ok. She's not going to kill me." said Naruto joking.

Many of the people relaxed. He looked at the Konoha nins noticed some of the rookie nine and their teachers but none of the ones he really needed to talk to.

"I'm sorry guys. I wish I had something better to say but I don't. You all know how big of an idiot I could be, well I didn't think about how I might have affected others."

Some of the people didn't look convinced. He knew giving a short summary of what he said to Tsunade wasn't really a good idea but he had others that he really needed to talk to right now.

Tayuya scoffed. "Dumbass have you ever thought what would have happened to us if you never left Konoha? What about members of our village that were once Orochimaru's fucking prisoners? You fucking think they would have been better off not freed? What about me for that matter. If you didn't come by I'd still be in that damn store living that boring ass life."

"She's right you know. I'd still just be a pawn. Now I'm your sister and damn proud of it." said Karin.

Katsuo nodded. "I've been allowed to branch out and learn more instead of simply being a test subject."

"I think what he's trying to say boss is that he's thankful to you. I know I am. I might not have been a prisoner or even bored with life. But at the same time I had no direction or a job for that matter. You gave me both." said Satoru scratching his gloved palm.

The Uzu Anbu nodded their heads in agreement with the others. Naruto tilted his hat to cover his eyes.

"Geez guys, you'll make me cry." said Naruto.

Several of the Konoha nins softened up. Naruto let his nins know that they could do as they please and headed for the exit. As he walked on he wondered who he should go look for first. There were several people he needed to find and only a select few that he knew where they might be. He pulled out his old Konoha head band and decided to start looking for the original owner.

* * *

**At the Academy**

A tan man sat at his desk grading paper's. He wore the standard Konoha Chunin attire and had his hair pulled up in a short spiky pony tail. His most defining feature was the scar that ran across the bridge of his nose. He looked up when the door to his class room opened and a long haired red head wearing Kage robes walked in.

"It's been a while hasn't Iruka?" said Naruto.

Iruka looked towards the man confused. "Um. Have we met?"

The teen shook his head chuckling. He pulled his Kage hat back till it hung on his back allowing all to see his face clearly. Pulling out a Konoha head band he placed it onto the desk.

"I think I should return this. It doesn't seem right for me to keep it when I'm no longer a shinobi of the leaf."

Iruka picked up the head band and studied it carefully. "They told me you looked different but I didn't think you would look this different Naruto."

"It's my mother's bloodline limit. The red hair and pale skin are just side effects of it." replied Naruto.

Iruka laughed. "Naruto when did you start using words such as side effect."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Since I've found several books on my clans heritage."

"Well if you had paid more attention during my history lessons then you might have learned a bit about your clan. Although I find it hard to believe that you've read a book or two" said Iruka joking.

Naruto chuckled with him. "Your not mad I left?"

Iruka shook his head. "I'm too relieved and happy that your alive. Naruto you do realize that most of us are just glad that your not really dead. Though some of us are disapointed that you left. On the other hand many of us are proud of what you've done. You were always yelling you'd be Hokage. I guess in a way you accomplished that goal."

Naruto smiled hearing this. Iruka stared at his old head band for a second before giving it back to Naruto.

"You should keep it."

"But I'm no longer a member of this village." said Naruto puzzled.

His old teacher chuckled. "That may be true but I still want you to have it. Uzu may be your home, but you were born in Konoha. No matter what you'll always be a part of it. And besides the Uzumaki clan have always had their symbol posted through out Konoha."

The confused look on Naruto's face made Iruka burst out laughing.

"Some things about you will never change. The red swirl mark on Konoha Chunin and Jonin vest is the Uzumaki symbol."

Naruto smiled. "It's been nearly four years since I've graduated and you're still teaching me new things."

"It's a teacher's job. So how about we go and practice one of our oldest traditions and let me treat you to a few bowls of ramen." said Iruka

"Ah man you have no idea how much I've been craving for Ichiraku ramen but unfortunately I have to go and find some of the others and talk with them." Naruto said sadly

"Well we can go another time. So who all do you have to go see?" asked Iruka.

Naruto took a second to think of all the people he needed to see.

"There's Kakashi sensei, Sakura, Hinata, and of course Teuchi and Ayame but I guess I'll see them when we go for some ramen. If at all possible I'd like to find Konohamaru and see how he, Moegi and Udon are doing. Those are just some of the more important people I need to see."

Iruka nodded his head. "Hmmm I noticed you mentioned Hinata. I didn't know you two had gotten close."

Naruto looked away. "Only in death."

"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Iruka confused and slightly disturbed by Naruto's word choice.

"I didn't know how she felt about me till I saw her laying flowers at my "_grave_". I've only gotten to know her recently." said Naruto

Iruka sighed hearing this. "Well she has always been shy. It might be hard to find her if she knows your alive and in town."

"Any chance you can help me find the others?" asked Naruto

Iruka thought for a second. "I can't really tell you where to find Sakura. I do know where Kakashi is most likely to be, try the memorial stone or ask Might Guy to help you find him. If you have trouble finding Konohamaru just look for his sensei Ebisu, he could probably help you."

After he finished he pulled out a note pad and began scribbling on it. He tour the paper off and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto looked at the note confused. "What's this?"

"Just their addresses and directions to get there. It pays off to be their teacher and friend." said Iruka

"Thanks. Hopefully we can get some ramen before I go back to Uzu." said Naruto before leaving.

Iruka laughed. "I hope you show my wallet some mercy this time."

Naruto laughed with him. "We'll see."

* * *

Naruto looked at the addresses listed. He was still unsure of who to see first. In all truth if he could he was going to prolong his encounter with Sakura. He would have accepted the beating Tsunade would have given him, but with Sakura he was unsure. He was hoping he could count all the past hits to the head as putting them even.

"Konohamaru wait up!" yelled a girl

A boy ran by Naruto. "I can't. I heard Boss was around here and I'm not stopping till I find him."

Two more kids ran by Naruto trying to catch up with Konohamaru.

"But Konohamaru they said he looks completely different how are you going to find him." said the kid wearing glasses.

"How hard can it be to find a guy wearing mostly orange?" asked Konohamaru

Naruto looked over to where the three kids stopped. Konohamaru still wore his long blue scarf over a pale green jacket and black pants. His brown hair was spiky and he wore his Konoha leaf headband on his forehead instead of his goggles. Moegi and Udon didn't look to different from when he last saw them. Udon had round glasses and his head band helped part his short hair. He wore a long sleeved black zip up shirt and light blue shorts. Naruto wondered if the kid suffered from a permanent cold, every time he saw him he seemed to have a runny nose. Naruto looked at Moegi and couldn't help staring at the two large strange pigtails she put her orange hair in. He knew she had them as a kid but they seemed far more noticeable now. She wore her head band like the other two. Her dark pink short sleeved shirt had a purple vest over it and her green skirt seemed layered.

Naruto laughed as the group argued about what to do next. Deciding to give Konohamaru a hand in finding him he walked over.

"You go looking for me and pass right by me. Your lucky that Moegi and Udon stopped you." said Naruto.

The kids looked at Naruto confused.

"B-Boss?" asked Konohamaru

"Been a while hasn't it." said Naruto

"U-Um you look very different, I mean you don't even have the same hair color."

Naruto chuckled at his confusion. "It's a long story, and I really don't want to repeat it so lets just say my bloodline limit caused some changes."

Konohamaru got excited. "Wow Boss you have a blood line limit! Tell me all about it!"

Naruto smiled. As bad as today could have been it was slowly looking better. Then again it was far from over. Pushing that thought aside he began answering the many curious question Konohamaru and the others asked him. They walked on while talking and eventually ended up near Team Seven's old training ground. Naruto stopped causing the kids following him to nearly bump into him.

"Hey guys I'd really like to stay and talk a little more but I should find the others." said Naruto

Konohamaru and the other's mood seemed to drop.

"Ok I guess there are plenty of people you need to see. Hopefully if you have time you can play ninja with us later!"

Naruto snickered at that. The image he got of him, a Kage, running around with a bunch of kids playing ninja was priceless.

"As I said to Iruka, we'll see. Oh and Konohamaru." said Naruto

The scarf wearing kid gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah Boss?"

"I'll be waiting on you to be Hokage. Alright?" said Naruto

Konohamaru got excited again. "Yeah you bet Boss I'll be Hokage in no time!"

After saying that the kids left.

"You know you used to be just like him."

Naruto turned to look at Jiraiya who was now standing in the middle of the street.

"Yeah I was." said Naruto

The two stayed silent for several minutes.

Jiraiya let out a sigh. "There's no way I can convince you to stay?"

Hearing these words Naruto leveled a hard glare at him.

"No. Why would you ask me to do such a thing?"

"It's what your father would have wanted." said Jiraiya.

Naruto gave a harsh laugh at that. "So now you choose to admit you knew my father! A little too late."

Jiraiya looked away at that. "Tsunade told me about you reading my diary. I know you know who your father is."

"And?" asked Naruto.

"There are things you need to know. Things your father knew that weren't in my diary. And I need you to come with me to Mount Myoboku to confirm something." replied Jiraiya

Naruto looked at Jiraiya skeptically. "What are you talking about?"

"The Great Toad Sage foresaw a prophecy. He said that I would do two things. The first thing was that I would become a famous writer. And the second thing is that one of my students would be the child of destiny. I need you to come with me and see if the toads can verify if your that particular student." said Jiraiya with his eye's closed as if in deep thought.

When he opened his eye's he paled. It was quite obvious to anyone looking at Naruto that he was livid. What scared Jiraiya wasn't the fact that Naruto's chakra was visible nor was it because he could hear the leather rubbing together as Naruto tightened his fist. The thing that truly scared Jiraiya was that he could swear he was looking at a ghost. He had only seen Kushina pissed off once and never forgot how she looked that day. The fact that an almost mirror image was staring at him wasn't what Jiraiya called a good thing.

"Oh my... You and my father are both... idiots! He puts the nine tails fox in me because of this prophecy and you try to groom me into being him thanks to it!" said Naruto.

Jiraiya had snapped out of his stupor when he head Naruto mention the fox.

"Naruto how do you know your father's reason for sealing the nine-tails fox in you?"

There was silence between them. Jiraiya was waiting for an answer and Naruto was mentally berating himself for slipping up.

'Dammit that's the last thing I needed him to hear. It's not like I can tell him oh hey my father sealed a little of his and mom's chakra into me. Then again.'

"Your a seal master right?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya nodded still waiting for an answer.

Naruto took a second to get his thoughts together. "I don't understand exactly how, but my father sealed some of his and my mother's chakra into me when he sealed the nine tailed fox. Sometime after my bloodline limit began causing physical changes to me I got brought to my subconscious and met my mother. She told me everything that happened that night and a little more." said Naruto fondly.

"What about your father?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto shook his head. " I won't see him unless the seal weakens beyond a certain point. Mom was surprised to see me as well. She wasn't suppose to appear unless I was trying to unlock the full power of the nine-tails. But I guess my bloodline limit called out to my mom's chakra or something."

"Just another reason to go to Mount Myoboku. The key needed to unleash the foxes full power is there." said Jiraiya.

"Look you can forget about trying to convince me to do that!" Naruto said quickly.

Jiraiya shook his head. "I don't understand you. Your father put the nine-tails fox in you so you could use it's power. Why would you just let it sit there and waste."

All fondness that Naruto felt from thinking about his meeting with his mother disapeared.

"What you and my father don't seem to understand is that it's a demon! It does not want to be controlled nor is it willing to cooperate with me. Hell it would most likely try to kill me if it ever gets the chance! Even when I do use it's power which I have to forcibly take, I become a mindless juggernaut attacking friends and foe alike."

"If you take the time and train using it power you could eventually learn to control it. Geez where did I go wrong as your sensei!" said Jiraiya

Naruto sighed. "Maybe you just suck as a sensei."

Jiraiya scoffed at that. "In case you've forgotten I trained your father."

"I don't think you should get credit for training a genius. Your a great ninja Jiraiya, but not a great teacher." said Naruto

He saw the puzzled looked on Jiraiya's face and decided to stop Jiraiya before he spoke.

"I'm tired of talking with you. I have far more important things I need to do so I'll make one last point before going." said Naruto

Naruto walked over to Jiraiya and held up his hand forming a Rasengan. Afterwards he slowly thrust his hands towards Jiraiya. The Toad Sannin jumped back dodging the attack.

"Geez what was that for?"

Shaking his head Naruto looked at Jiraiya. "What did you notice about my Rasengan?"

Jiraiya thought back to how Naruto formed his attack. "Well for one you didn't need a clone to form it. The amount of time it took to make it has decreased and you've even increased the size of it. I have to hand it to you, you've done well to improve it."

"And yet with all those changes it's still a useless attack." said Naruto solemnly

Jiraiya couldn't believe what he just heard. "What are you saying! How is the Rasengan a useless attack?"

"When we were on the training trip you had told me to increase the size of my Rasengan and to learn how to create it without the help of shadow clones. But there's something you forgot to tell me when giving me advice. Something so important that without it the other two pieces are useless. What's the point in being able to make a bigger attack, if I'm not fast enough to hit my opponent with it. The Rasengan is a close range attack. I have to be next to my opponent to use it. If my opponent can out maneuver me, then what's the point in using it." said Naruto

Realization dawn on Jiraiya as Naruto spoke. Having said what he wanted Naruto made his way to the memorial stone leaving Jiraiya to his thoughts.

* * *

**At the Memorial stone**

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone looking over all the names of the people he knew at one point or another. He looked over Obito, Rin, his father, Kushina, Minato, and finally Naruto's, a name that would most likely be removed later.

Said person quietly walked up next to Kakashi and joined him in looking over the many names.

"I'm surprised you came to Konoha, at least so soon after revealing that you were alive all along." said Kakashi.

"Well it was either come now or risk Grandma Tsunade breaking down my office door." joked Naruto.

Kakashi chuckled "I guess that's true. Have you seen Sakura yet?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm kinda nervous to see her."

"Well after her training with Tsunade I don't blame you." said Kakashi with a little humor to his voice.

"That's not exactly the reason. I'm... unsure of what I'd do if she did try and punch me. I don't exactly feel like I really owe it to her." said Naruto.

Kakashi thought for a few seconds. "What about your promise to her? The one about bringing Sasuke back, you know she's going to bring it up if she comes looking for you."

"I'm not sure, kinda hard to bring back someone when they don't want to come back." said Naruto.

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"So. You disappointed in me?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi stood silent for a few seconds. "I would first like to hear why you left. We know why Sasuke left, but no one truly knows why you left."

"Thanks." said Naruto.

He began explaining about finding Jiraiya's diary and told him about finding Uzu.

"Funny." said Kakashi while laughing.

Naruto gave him a confused look. "What's funny?"

He took a second to stop laughing. "You and Sasuke would fight like cats and dogs, and now you two have similar goals. Even took the same route as well."

"Our reason's for leaving are completely different." said Naruto not liking how he was being compared to Sasuke.

Kakashi picked up on this. "I guess your right about that, though you both still left."

"So sensei how has life been? Any chance you've gotten lost on it's road every now and then?" asked Naruto hoping to change the subject.

Though he was wearing a mask you could see Kakashi was smiling. "So I'm still your sensei. I would have thought you felt the same way about me that you do Jiraiya."

Naruto shook his head. "I guess you heard my argument with him. Your not a bad teacher, maybe a little lazy. At least when you taught me tree climbing you took the time to explain what I had to do. And besides you taught me some other important things."

"Still I didn't take my job as your sensei serious enough." said Kakashi sadly.

"You never boasted about being a great teacher. And we were your first genin team. You shouldn't hold yourself responsible, you had a dark avenger, a fan girl, and a knuckle headed show off to train. At least you had gotten us to learn team work, something many other's would have had a harder time doing." stated Naruto

Hearing this helped bring up Kakashi's mood. "So when did you start getting so smart?"

Naruto laughed. "When my job demanded it from me."

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle. "So who else do you need to see?"

"Well I still need to find Sakura and then there's Hinata. There are still plenty of people I should talk to but those two are the most important right now." said Naruto.

"I guess I should let you go find them then." said Kakashi.

The red haired Kage nodded.

* * *

Naruto had gone to Sakura's apartment and had visited the Hyuga compound. Unfortunately he couldn't find Sakura nor could he find Hinata. He found it ironic that he felt somewhat better about visiting Sakura's apartment due to no one being home. When he had gone to the Hyuga compound he had gotten a rather cold glare from Neji. Naruto considered himself lucky when he didn't meet Hiashi. He didn't want to know how he would react now that he knew who he was really sending his daughter to meet.

As Naruto walked down the street hoping to find either Sakura or Hinata he saw Kiba and Shino walking towards him.

He met them half. "Any chance you know where Hinata is?"

Kiba looked pissed but stayed silent. Surprisingly it was Shino that decided to do all of the talking.

"No, have you tried at the Hyuga compound?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah but she wasn't there."

"Then the only location remaining would be training ground eight. At least as far as we know." said Shino

Kiba gave a low growl and left while Shino remained. Seeing this Naruto had begun to leave as well hoping to find Hinata, but Shino had put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed down on it.

"Kiba won't say anything because of his conflicting emotions, but let me warn you now. We know about Hinata's trips to Uzu. I don't know what your intentions are towards her. If you hurt her, we'll make you regret it."

Afterwards Shino released his grip and went in the same direction as Kiba. Naruto just stood there. He was amused by the fact that Shino had threatened him like that. The fact that Shino was dressed like he was in a gang only made him want to start cracking up. Not wanting to draw any attention towards himself he held a calm face and walked towards training ground eight.

* * *

**Training Ground Eight**

He walked into the center of the training area and looked around. He stood there for a few minutes simply observing the obvious signs such as the trenches that Kiba and Akamaru had made when practicing their jutsu and the worn out punching post that shown Hinata's effort. After a while Naruto walked up to a large oak tree and turned his back and leaned on it.

"You shouldn't go back to being shy again just because I'm alive." said Naruto.

Silence was his only reply. He shook his head. "Do you hate me?"

"NO!" Hinata blurted out from the other side of the tree.

She instantly put a hand over her mouth.

"Then why are you hiding from me?" asked Naruto as he made his way around the tree to see her.

She still didn't answer. She wouldn't even look him in the face.

"How is it you could talk to me when I was Yori, but now that you know that I'm Naruto you can't?" he asked.

Hinata slowly forced herself to look him in the face, though a blush became more noticeable as she did.

"W-why did you l-leave? W-why didn't you tell us you were alive?"

"If I did tell anyone I'd have hunter nin after me. I wasn't sure if there was anyone I could really trust." replied Naruto telling her more than he told the others, he felt she deserved to know.

She looked sad. "Why do you feel that way. I thought you and the Hokage were close."

"During my trip with Jiraiya I found out that some people I trusted knew about my heritage." Naruto sighed before continuing. "I lived most of my life never knowing my parents, I believed that I was just an orphan who's parents didn't care about him or died shortly after he was born. One thing you should never keep from someone is their heritage. My mother's family were the leaders of Uzu and my father was the fourth Hokage. How would you feel if you lived my life and no one told you about your heritage."

Hearing this Hinata thought about what he said. She imagined what he had asked her and understood what he was saying. While she was thinking about this Naruto was looking at the orange headband. He couldn't help but smile seeing that she still hadn't taken it off. Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"What happens now?" she asked with a blush

He knew what she was really asking. Every time they met she would actually be happy to be around him and he could see that she had grown fond of _Yori_. What she really wanted to know was what would happen between them.

"I was hoping that we could stop pretending. You know... actually see each other and... stuff." 'Oh real smooth jackass.' he thought to himself.

Hinata's entire face heated up. Seeing her face turned scarlet Naruto reached out and gently put his hand against her cheek. She was too shocked at first to feel the cold air that radiated off his hand but slowly leaned into his hand enjoying it. Within seconds she felt the heat leave her face.

"Please don't faint on me Hinata." he said franticly

Not trusting her voice she simply nodded at his request. Once her blush had completely disappeared he removed his hand much to both of their displeasure.

Finally finding her voice she nervously asked. "So u-um are you asking me to be y-your?" she couldn't finish.

"Girlfriend... then yes. I'm not ready for marriage, at least not at this age." said Naruto hoping she wasn't asking for marriage.

Her blushed returned and Naruto contemplated on putting his hand back on her cheek. Despite the fact that he was wearing gloves he liked touching her, he couldn't really explain it. When he saw a smile gradually grow on her face he felt much better. He had been hiding it well but he was nervous about this. Who could blame him, going by his past records of asking a girl out he had a one hundred percent failure rate.

"I would r-really like that." she said

He smiled hearing her answer but disappeared when he saw her smile falter.

"Hey something wrong?"

She hesitated. "How are we g-going to meet again, most of the Hyuga council are against our relationship. I-I don't think I'll be allowed to make any more trips to see you."

"Figures. I guess your dads against it as well, should have known with the glare Neji gave me." said Naruto his happy mood quickly disappearing.

"U-Um actually my dad is one of the few people who's for it." said Hinata.

He raised an eyebrow at that. "He... He supports it?"

Hinata nodded.

"Well shouldn't he have more say as the Head clan member?" asked Naruto

"Um y-yes he does." she said wondering why she hadn't thought of it.

Naruto smiled again. "Then what are we worrying for. As long as your father's not against the idea of us having a relationship we should be able to see each other still."

Hearing this caused Hinata to smile again. Without thinking she embraced Naruto in a hug. When she realized what she did she quickly let go and tried to hide the blush quickly covering her face. Naruto having been too surprised by the hug didn't have a chance to return it before she let go. He reached out and gently wrapped his arms around her. Hinata slowly returned the embrace and leaned her head on his shoulder when she felt the cool air radiate off him again. They stayed this way for some time. Naruto looked up towards the sky and saw that the sun was about to set.

"Hey, when do you have to head back to your home?" asked Naruto.

Hinata stirred from the hug. "Technically I don't have a curfew, but I guess it would be b-best if I'm home before eleven."

"Anything in particular that you want to do?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I-I'm comfortable here."

The air flowing off of Naruto was comfortable. It was cool enough to lower her body heat but not too cold that it caused her to shiver. Naruto led Hinata over to the tree she had originally been using to hide behind and sat down. Hinata had followed his example and leaned on him again as she sat down and closed her eyes enjoying the moment.

'Tayuya and Karin are going to kill me if I get any grass stains on my Kage robes.'

He pushed the thought aside and wrapped his arm around Hinata's side as he pulled her closer to him. There had been several times as Yori that he had wanted to do this with Hinata. But he didn't want to just simply tease himself especially when he didn't know how she would react once she knew he was really Naruto. It was odd to him. He enjoyed it, but still it was an odd change from how he had been living his life. Right now he didn't have to worry about his ninja and where he was sending them, paper work, or other villages causing trouble for his village.

"It's funny. The entire time I walked here the thing that worried me the most wasn't the two beatings I thought I would get from Grandma Tsunade or Sakura." whispered Naruto

Hinata opened her eyes, curious to what he was saying.

"The thing that worried me the most was your reaction. I was afraid you'd be angry with me or worse." he finished

"I was a little angry when I found out, but at the same time I was anxious to see you again. she whispered back.

Naruto chuckled. "I can't believe your father would actually be ok with us being together."

"When w-we heard that you were really the Uzukage f-father acted rather strange for an Hyuga." said Hinata

Naruto gave Hinata a questioning look. "Really, tell me what happened."

Hinata giggled as she recalled the memory. "W-Well when he heard it took him a few minutes to register what he had been told. But afterwards he had openly started l-laughing. Some of us had gotten worried about him. H-He had said something like how f-funny it was that the person several people had called the dead last had rebuilt a village and was now it's Kage. At least this is what my sister told me, u-um I fainted."

Hearing this caused Naruto to laugh. The thought of Hiashi or any Hyuga except Hinata laughing much less smiling was hard to believe. After he had calmed down they went back to their peaceful silence. They stayed this way for the rest of the day. Naruto would have gladly answered any question's she had, but Hinata had already guessed that he was tired from the other's asking him. Besides, it's not like she wouldn't get the chance to ask him later. That thought made her present smile grow.

* * *

**Eight Days Later**

Naruto walked towards his office as he thought about his time in Konoha for the twentieth time that day. When it was time for Hinata to return to her home he decided to walk her there. In truth he could still feel some of the glares he got from some of the Hyugas. The next day he resumed his search for Sakura. After spending several hours looking for her he had given up. As far as he was concern if she was avoiding him then why waste his time searching for her when he could be doing other things such as meeting with Iruka for free ramen. Iruka didn't know whether to be shocked or thankful when Naruto only ate five bowls of ramen instead of the usual ten or twelve. Naruto had told him that it was thanks to Karin and Tayuya pounding in his head about manners and such.

Afterwards he spent the next two days chatting with the remaining people he new when he wasn't with Hinata or Tsunade. As he was walking towards the Hyuga compound he ran into Hiashi. Naruto had tried to walk by the man as if he didn't recognize him but the Head Hyuga had noticed him and stopped him to have a chat. For the most part Naruto had been asked what his intentions were with Hinata which he answered honestly. Hiashi seemed to not be bothered by what he was told and had simply given Naruto a letter before going his own way. Being confused by the action Naruto had asked what the letter was for which Hiashi had simply said for him to read it if he ever thought of doing something stupid. This had only confused him more and he opened the letter. Inside was a very vivid threat that had played with Naruto's imagination like it was a game. Naruto shuddered before pocketing the letter deciding that it would be a good reminder for him to think before acting.

Leaving had been something he didn't look forward to, but realized he had to. He was surprised when several people he knew came to see him off. He round the last corner of the hall way that led to his office before walking in. As he sat down he thought of the last hug he shared with Hinata and the chaste kiss she pecked him with before turning red from the open affection. The happy thought disappeared as he looked over to a corner of the room and saw a cloak of black with red clouds. He didn't panic but simply insulted himself for not noticing the persons presense before now. Naruto gaze slowly moved up to the persons face and wished he didn't when he saw red eye's with three tomoe in each one.

"Hello Naruto, it's been a long time." said Itachi


	7. Chapter 7: Old Dangers

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Uesugi belongs to Trife. Satoru Yasuhiro is my OC.

Author's Note: Sorry for those of you who tried to review last time but couldn't. I removed the chapter that was just an author's note and it messed up the chapters. Thanks everyone that sent me a message in order to review. Those of you that didn't but wanted to review can simply add what they liked about last chapter in their review for this chapter. Well enjoy.

Chapter 7: Old Dangers

* * *

Hinata walked towards the Uzu gates with her Hyuga branch guard. It had been nearly a month since Naruto had gone back to Uzu and she was excited to see him again. It had taken longer than she wanted to get permission to go to Uzu again. As she walked closer she became increasingly alert. Things seemed tense on the island. The guards at the docking station seemed stricter and she had seen several Anbu patrolling through the forest when she activated her Byakugan. When she finally reached the gates she saw Karin approaching her.

"H-hi Karin it's nice to see you." said Hinata.

Karin stared at Hinata hard and unsure. "State your name, and be clear about it."

Hinata was puzzled by Karin's behavior. The two girls had met several times and had gotten along very well.

"What's wrong Karin? It's me, Hinata." she said

The red haired girl stood still for a few seconds before she let out a breathe and loosened up.

"Sorry about the rude greeting Hinata but we've had to tighten security here." Karin apologized

Hearing this didn't help Hinata's worries. She had simply thought that she was imagining things. The fact that Karin had been waiting at the gate to verify who she was troubled her.

'Why would Karin need to check if I was who I say I am unless.' "Has something happened to Naruto?" Hinata asked.

Karin saw the worry on her face. "Don't worry he's ok, something has happened but I can't say anymore out here. I'll take you to him and you'll be able to ask him yourself."

Hinata calmed a bit from hearing that. Her heart beat was still rapid but she felt better knowing she would see Naruto. Karin had the guards open the gate and led Hinata to the Uzukage building. Hinata looked around trying to find any signs of disturbances or attacks. So far the village itself seemed the same as usual and the people themselves seemed oblivious to any danger. Once they were in the Uzukage building however it was a different story. There was no damage to the building, at least as far as she could see. But the people seemed on edge and far more serious about their work. She had activated her Byakugan when they came to the double doors to Naruto's office. She realized she was being childish when it wouldn't take Karin long to open the door but she was worried.

Looking through the door she saw Naruto sitting at his desk perfectly fine and unharmed. She had sighed when she saw this but got worried when she saw the look on his face. He was in a fool mood if his facial expression was anything to go by. Karin having sensed Hinata activating her Byakugan and turned to the girl.

"I see someone's impatient." she said smirking.

Hinata blushed from the comment and looked down to the ground avoiding Karen's gaze. Karen chuckled at Hinata's habit and knocked on the doors.

"Naruto it's Karin, I just wanted to let you know that Hinata's here." said Karin in a little sing song voice.

Hearing this Naruto didn't waste any time telling them to come in as he simply jumped over his desk and ran to double doors. Hinata still hadn't deactivated her Byakugan and had seen the entire thing while Karin and the Hyuga guard simply heard several fast foot steps. Once the double doors were opened Naruto hugged Hinata.

"God am I glad to see you again." he said happily

Hinata meekly returned the hug, though she was giddy from how enthusiastic Naruto was being. Karin had decided to give the two some time alone and had dragged the Hyuga guard away with the help of a few hidden Anbu. Once they were alone Naruto allowed Hinata in before closing the office doors.

"Naruto what's going on." asked Hinata.

Naruto had tried to act like nothing is wrong but the look on her face told him he was fooling no one.

He let out a sigh. "Well it happened about three weeks ago."

* * *

**Three Weeks Ago**

"Hello Naruto, it's been a long time." said Itachi.

Naruto stared at the Akatsuki member. The man looked very much like Sasuke except older and had longer hair. At the moment Naruto was wondering how Itachi had gotten into his office without being notice. He pushed the thought aside and reached for the underside of the desk.

"So I take it Akatsuki knows who I am now." said Naruto neutrally.

Itachi nodded. "Did you think it would take long for us to find out once you told all the Kages?"

"No, I pretty much expected you to know. If your here for the nine-tail I'll let you know now." said Naruto

He quickly rose from he chair and sent the desk flying towards Itachi. The Sharingon user dodged to the left as the desk crashed through the wall. Itachi looked back to where Naruto was only to find him already in front of him with a **Rasengan** ready to plunge into him.

"It won't be easy!" said Naruto as he slammed his attack into Itachi's torso.

Naruto quickly sent a burst of chakra through his body when he saw Itachi burst into crows. He had successfully dispelled the Genjutsu and ducked down to avoid Itachi's grasp. Using his hand as a spring he pushed off the ground aiming a kick for Itachi's face. Itachi had only enough time to shift his head allowing Naruto boot to only scrape his cheek. Having seen his attack miss Naruto tried to use his hands to bounce away but had made the mistake of looking into Itachi's **Mangekyou Sharingon**.

Naruto saw as the triple pointed pin wheels seemingly spun in Itachi's eyes. As he got back to his feet he the world around him melted and he saw how he seemed to be on an unknown body of water with the sky black as night and empty save for the glaring red moon. Naruto looked forward to find Itachi simply standing there. He went to move only to find himself paralyzed.

"You forced me to use **Tsukuyomi**." said Itachi.

Naruto simply chuckled hearing this. "Well I told you it wouldn't be easy to capture me."

Itachi did not share in Naruto's humor. "Despite what you think I did not come here to fight."

"What! What other reason could you have to be here?" said Naruto not believing him.

Itachi's continued to simply gaze at him. "I simply come to ask you a few questions."

Naruto was beginning to hate **Tsukuyomi. **Despite the fact that he hadn't been harmed yet his presence in it alone seemed to cause mental strain. The way Itachi stared at him and the fact that the man's voice reverberated through out the place didn't help with Naruto's nerves.

"Well I guess you have all the time in the world or at least three days so ask away." said Naruto not really planning to answer.

Itachi took his time to speak. "What are you plans for Konoha? Do you feel any hatred for it?"

Out of all the questions he would be asked Naruto didn't see that coming.

"Konoha is my ally, I don't have any plan's to attack it. Why ask something like that?" said Naruto.

The Sharingon user ignored his question. "What about my brother? I heard that you made a promise to bring him back. What do you intend to do now?"

"If I can help it I would like to avoid seeing him. As far as I'm concerned as long as he stay's away from Uzu I'll leave him alone. But if he comes sneaking in like you've done I'll beat him worse than last time and send him back to Konoha." replied Naruto not understanding why Itachi was asking him such things.

"I see. Well in case you do see him I'll leave you a little gift." said Itachi a little amused.

Before Naruto could even question him a raven formed from Itachi and flew towards him. He had tried to ask Itachi what he meant but the second he opened his mouth the bird dove into it and continued straight down his throat. To say that he was grossed out would be putting it lightly, mortified seemed to fit better. Naruto looked to where Itachi was finding that he could move again. To his surprise he was back in his office and Itachi was no where to be found.

Karin, Tayuya and several Anbu burst through the doors. Naruto immediately turned to his Anbu.

"Itachi Uchiha has infiltrated the village search out and find him and also be on the look out of a possible partner!"

The Anbu gave a quick bow before dispersing. Afterwards Naruto took careful steps towards his chair before sitting down. Karin looked at Naruto worried.

"I hate to tell you this but Itachi has already made it out of range for me to detect him."

Naruto nodded. "It's ok. I figured as much."

* * *

**Back to the Present **

"That's pretty much how things went. Ever since then I've been increasing security." said Naruto

Hinata looked sadly at Naruto. "I-It seems like Akatsuki is causing damage every where now."

"You say that as if Akatsuki has been causing problems in Konoha." said Naruto.

She nodded. "T-They have."

Naruto shook off his shock. "Wait why would they be in Konoha when I'm no longer there now?"

"The o-only thing we know is that they killed two people. One of the people k-killed was Asuma." said Hinata.

Hearing this caused Naruto to think about Konohamaru and the Third Hokage. Hinata reached into her jacket and pulled out a scroll.

"Lady Hokage asked me to give this to you." said Hinata

Naruto took the scroll from her and walked over to his desk. He sat down and began reading it.

**Dear Naruto**

**Jiraiya has informed me that Akatsuki have become more active lately. I'm not sure if Hinata has told you yet but two people in Fire country**

**have been killed. The first person was Chiriku a head monk at a temple. We had been informed by one of the surviving monks of his death. **

**The second person was Asuma Sarutobi, he died when I sent a team after Akatsuki. We know that you of all people will most likely run into**

**these people. How I wish you were still in Konoha so I could do more to help you. Unfortunately you aren't. Shikamaru was apart of the team **

**I sent and saw how the Akatsuki members fought. I've had him write down a very detailed description of both members along with abilities **

**they seemed to have. I wish there was more I could do for you. **

**PS: Shikamaru is determined to avenge Asuma. I've sent them out with Kakashi to find them again, though I hope they don't for their own **

**safety. Shikamaru also asked if you find the member wielding a triple bladed scythe to please hand him over to them, he said don't worry about killing**

**him something about it being in the notes.**

**From Tsunade**

Naruto took a quick look at the notes Shikamaru had written down. The description came along with a quick drawing of each person. He recognized them and shook his head. Hinata who had been reading the note from over his shoulder looked at Naruto.

"N-Naruto is something wrong?" she asked.

"Do you remember me telling you how I got a lot of the money to rebuild Uzu?" he asked.

She took a moment to think it over. "Y-You said you found an underground base with Karin's and T-Tayuya's help."

Naruto nodded. "Well the way we found it was following a chakra source that felt strange to Karin. When we found the source we discovered that it belonged to an Akatsuki member. I didn't get a good look at either member, but I could swear that these two guys are the same one's I stole from. I can't help but feel this is my fault."

"Why w-would you think that? How are you responsible?" asked Hinata worried that Naruto would blame himself.

He got out of his chair and walked over to a filing cabinet. Shuffling through a few folders he brought out one and pulled out two pieces of paper. As he handed them to Hinata she saw Asuma's picture along with one of a monk.

"Both of the people killed were once members of the Twelve Guardian ninja. I don't know who, but someone has put very large bounties on them." said Naruto.

He sat back down in his chair. Hinata had placed the papers back into the folder before moving over to Naruto. Her face's blush was increasing as she contemplated what she was about to do. Finally getting rid of her nervousness she slowly sat on his lap and positioned herself closer to him. Naruto was glad to see that her shyness was slowly disappearing with time.

"Naruto, just because they have large bounties doesn't mean that your to blame. I m-mean we don't know what their intentions are, f-for all we know that particular member could just be greedy." said Hinata.

Thinking things over he could see what she was saying but still felt somewhat responsible. Deciding that he didn't want to worry her more than he already had he decided to change the subject.

"Thanks for delivering this message to me. In truth I haven't gone near our messenger hawks out of fear." said Naruto.

Hinata gave him a puzzled look and Naruto shook his head.

"Ever since Itachi gagged me with that crow I just can't stand the sight of feathers." admitted Naruto.

Hearing this caused Hinata to giggle. Naruto faked a whine, happy that he was able to get her to smile again.

"It's not funny, I've become rather paranoid because of it. For the first week I couldn't get the taste of feathers out of my mouth. And even to this day I have pulled imaginary feathers from my mouth every now and then." said Naruto

This had only increased Hinata's giggles. Naruto smiled seeing this. Acting on impulse he reached his arm around her back and pulled her closer to him. Hinata's eyes went wide when she felt his lips connect with her's. He had thought he made a mistake when he felt her go still in his arms until he felt her arm wrap around his neck.

Last time she had kissed him, it had only been a quick peck. This time he could thoroughly enjoy it. He couldn't believe how soft her lips felt and the smell that drifted off of her made him want to take deeper breathes. One of Hinata's hands had weaved it's way through his hair to the back of his scalp. She had pulled him even closer trying to deepen the kiss. The two were lost in the moment till a set of fake coughs caused them both to go rigid and wide eyed.

Naruto slowly turned his attention to the double doors to see Tayuya standing there with a smirk on her face that promised future teasing. Hinata had been too embarrassed to look and decided that the side of Naruto's neck was a good place to hide her face.

"Well well I guess someone should learn to lock the doors." said Tayuya mockingly.

Naruto had tried to voice some kind of protest but found that his voice seemed unusually hard to find.

"Don't bother saying anything. I just came by to give you the reports from the latest patrols." said Tayuya as she walked over to the desk and laid said papers down before leaving.

Once she was gone Naruto lifted up one hand and formed a shadow clone. "Please go and lock the door."

He turned his attention back to Hinata who had finally removed her face from his neck despite the evident blush that made her look like a tomatoe. Raising his hand he placed it on her face and began channeling the ice chakra to it like he'd done in the past. She smiled when she felt the familiar cool sensation travel across her face.

"So how long can you stay this time?" Naruto asked.

"Only about a week this time." she said.

Naruto smiled. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"Well i-it isn't, but the only reason I'm getting to stay that long is because of an agreement made between the two sides of the Hyuga clan council. I get to stay longer but I can't make trips here as often." said Hinata.

"I guess we should enjoy every chance we can get then." replied Naruto giving her a quick kiss.

* * *

**Two Days Later**

As much as Naruto wanted to he couldn't spend all day with Hinata. His responsibility to his village played a major factor in this. After he finished his duties as Uzukage he would spend the rest of his day with Hinata. Surprisingly while he worked she had spent much of her time simply waiting patiently and watching him perform his duties from signing important documents, talking with council members, and sending his ninja out on missions he felt they were capable of completing. He had tried several times to talk her out of waiting in the office with him afraid that she might be bored for his sake, but she had kindly remained saying she liked watching him. He couldn't really fathom why she seemed to enjoy watching him work.

Right now he was in the middle of a council meeting listening to the solutions on what to do about Akatsuki. He looked towards the members of his ninja council. He had told them why Akatsuki would target Uzu due to their career, but had decided to keep the civilian council in the dark except Tazuna who agreed with his decision to not tell the civilians about his burden. It's not that he didn't trust them but that he believed that many who were ignorant to how ninja seals worked would misunderstand his status as a jinchuriki just as several civilians of Konoha did.

Naruto had handed out the reports that Shikamaru had written out along with the description of the two members he encountered. In truth Naruto didn't believe that the missing waterfal nin known as Kakazu was really immortal, but his partner Hidan was another story. Getting your head cut off and still being able to talk kind threw out all argument questioning your immortality. Naruto looked towards the Uesugi clan member in hopes that he could come up with a answer to how Hidan immortality was possible. Later he would send a letter to the Hidden Waterfall village in hopes they would give some helpful information on how it was possible for him to have five elemental chakra affinities.

Unfortunately for Naruto it would be another hour before the meeting ended.

* * *

**At Naruto's personal training area**

After enduring the long meeting Naruto went to his office to find Karin filling away some papers and Hinata missing. Karin had told him that Hinata had asked if there was an area she could train while the meeting went on which she then pointed her to Naruto's training area. Right now Naruto was just hiding in the shadows and watching as Hinata practice her rhythmic Taijutsu style. He knew that there was a high chance that she had her Byakugan active and knew he was there but decided to simply watch. As he watched he had to admit that her fighting style seemed like a dance with the way she swung her arms and the way she moved her legs fluidly. Deciding to stop hiding he moved towards the center of the training field. Sure enough her eyes had veins bulged out at the sides, a sure sign that her Byakugan was active.

"Your fighting style has changed al ot over the years." said Naruto.

Hinata stopped and looked towards him despite her near 360 degree vision.

"U-Um well my body had difficulties using the original Hyuga style so I began developing this style. How did y-your meeting go?"

"The meeting went ok, though I wish it didn't last so long. I had a message sent to Taki hoping they would be willing to give us any information they have on Kakazu. By the way that new style of yours really suits you." commented Naruto.

Hinata blushed. "T-T-Thank you. U-Um what are you doing?"

Naruto had begun removing his Kage robes. "Well in truth I can't train with my Kage robes on... well I could but I really don't want to send them to the cleaners again, at least not so soon."

She merely just nodded as she watched him stretch in his usual attire of his leather armor and long kimono. Thinking of the armor brought a question to mind.

"Naruto. Doesn't that armor make it hard to move?"

Having heard her question Naruto pulled up one of his kimono sleeves and pointed to an area at his joints.

"There are sections of the armor that doesn't have leather to prevent that."

Hinata nodded before going back to her own training. Though she kept her Byakugan active to watch him. Naruto had created a shadow clone and had it transform. She was puzzled when the smoke cleared to show a perfect copy of Itachi. While she began practicing her motions again she watched as the two replayed the same scenario over and over again. After a while she realized that Naruto was replaying the fight that had happened in his office a few weeks ago. After a while he dispelled the clone and created four more to replace it. The four turned their attention to their creator and began engaging him in hand to hand combat.

She wished she had the ability to create shadow clones as he could. While he could just create a training partner she would have to go and find one. After a while she focused her eyes to look beneath his clothes. The action caused her to blush as she stared at his tone body. Though his muscles weren't big they were compacted, a perfect quality for the way he was fighting. As he fought his shadow clones his body would act like a spring. She watched as his muscles would tighten before unleashing a fast and powerful punch or kick.

Naruto smirked when he noticed that Hinata had stopped practicing completely and wore a blush that could easily be seen despite nearly having her back turned towards him. He didn't mind what she was doing, in fact he was happy that she had been growing slightly more bold lately. The sly smile went completely unseen to Hinata as Naruto sent a silent message to his clones who wore the same smile when the message crossed into them. Hinata's eyes widened when all five of the Naruto's suddenly vanished in a burst of speed and found herself surrounded with multiple arms embracing her.

"So Hinata care to tell me exactly what you were looking at?" asked Naruto a little arrogantly.

The embarrassment of being caught coupled with the fact that she had five Naruto's hugging her was too much for the poor girl and she promptly fainted in their arms.

* * *

**Fifteen Minutes Later**

Hinata slowly woke up to find her head resting on a blue clothed lap. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light and she saw the four copies of Naruto practicing the same jutsu. Turning her head she saw the original Naruto looking towards his copies as he ran through the same hand seals as his clones except he wasn't casting any jutsu.

"Why are you doing that?" she asked.

Having heard her question he stopped what he was doing and looked down towards her. Dispelled his clones and smiled before replying.

"Glad to see your awake again. Sorry about earlier, I didn't think you'd faint."

She blushed being reminded.

"As for your question what exactly do you mean?" he asked.

"U-Um why do you have your clones practice jutsu if your going to practice the hand seals anyway?" asked Hinata.

He took a second thinking about the best way to explain his reason. "Well while I receive information from my clones on how the best way to perform the jutsu my body doesn't get anything out of it. Um I guess what I'm trying to say is that thanks to the information I can perform a jutsu better but if my muscle's don't recognize the motions or are not fast enough to follow the movements my clones learned then I won't be able to make use of my clones training. It's kinda like how an Uchiha uses his eye's to see his opponents movements but if his body isn't fast enough to react he loses his advantage."

Hinata nodded her head showing she understood his explanation. Basically what he was trying to do was learn how to perform his jutsu faster, at least that's what she got from it. Naruto pulled off his gloves and sat them aside. The things had become annoying as of late and for once he had wanted to touch her without the things getting in the way.

* * *

**Three Days Later**

Karin was staring at the empty chair where Naruto was supposed to be waiting to give out missions. Instead she saw a letter saying he decided to take off early to enjoy his last few days with Hinata to the fullest. She wasn't angry that he was shirking his duties as the villages Kage, but hoped that this didn't become a habit of his while Hinata was around. She spun around quickly when she sensed an Anbu materialize into the office.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

Naruto and Hinata had just exited a restaurant and began walking down the market streets. Figuring that it would bring more attention towards him and Hinata than he wanted he had decided to leave his Uzukage robes back at the office. This didn't stop most of the villagers from giving polite bows, but at least there were some that didn't recognize him without his hat on.

"Um Naruto I've really enjoyed my time with you but do you think it was such a good idea to shirk your duties?" asked Hinata.

Naruto chuckled. "Well it's only one day, and besides we should enjoy these last few days as much as we can. It'll be a while before we get to see each other again."

They both saddened at the thought. Before they could continue with their conversation Karin came barreling down the street heading straight for Naruto.

"Naruto you need to come back to the office!" she said.

When he looked at her face he saw the seriousness in it. "Karin what's wrong?"

Karin took a second to catch her breathe. "I can't saw it out loud due to our location."

Having said this she cupped her hand next to Naruto's ear and began whispering into it. When she was done Naruto had immediately grabbed Hinata and disappeared in a burst of speed.

* * *

**Back in the Uzukage Office**

It had taken Naruto no time at all to reach his office. Once inside he had put on his robes and sat down in his chair. Hinata was confused at what was going on. She had tried asking Naruto several times on the way to the office but he kept saying she'd find out in a second. Naruto looked at the several Jonins and Anbu that now filled his office. Seeing the Anbu waiting patiently in the front he nodded towards the man.

"Alright report." said Naruto.

The Anbu gave a quick nod. "The two Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakazu have been sighted by one of our patrol units in the eastern forest. We have Anbu tailing them right now sending reports over the radio of their movement as we speak. We have not yet engaged them due to your warnings."

"Good. Alright i want two teams of twelve each to go and confront them. No matter what you need to separate them from each other. Once we have them separated I want team 1 to focus on capturing Hidan, normally I would tell you to kill him but it'll be easier to capture him instead. As for Kakazu, I want team two to simply hit him with everything you have and kill him." said Naruto.

Karin who had arrived just as he began giving his orders decided to speak up. "That's good and all but what's this we?"

Naruto had tried to reply but Tayuya stopped him. "Yeah I hope your not fucking thinking about going off with us to fight them."

"Well of course I do! What kind of Kage sits back as his ninja fights off S ranked criminals after him!" said Naruto.

"That's the fucking point. They're after you. If they fucking capture you they could just easily escape." said Tayuya.

Naruto wasn't going to back down. "I'm not some weak little child that can't take care of himself. And besides I'll have twelve of my best ninja protecting me."

Karin stepped in. "That's also another reason for you to stay here."

Hearing this had only confused Naruto. "Naruto your ninja will be fighting two high S ranked ninja who seem immortal. They will have enough problems fighting the Akatsuki members. If your there they will worry about protecting you as well as fighting them. You need to have faith in your ninja." Karin added.

His faith in his ninja's wasn't absent, but at the same time this was his problem. The two Akatsuki members were here because of him. It should be him fighting them. At the same time he understood what Karin was saying. Despite the fact that he wouldn't need protecting, his ninja's would still feel the need to protect him. As he battled with his thoughts he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up to the owner of said hand and his eye met worried pale lavender eyes. Hinata was worried for him, of course she was worried for him. He closed his eyes.

"Alright... I'll stay here, but some one better go get the communicator so I can observe the fights over the radio."

One of the Anbu gave a quick bow before disappearing. Without wasting any time Naruto began sorting out the teams he would be sending out to confront the two Akatsuki members.

* * *

**Somewhere in the Eastern forest**

The two Akatsuki members made their way through the forest. Having been told about their new targets position they decided that the only way they would be able to capture him was to wait until he left the village. The original plan was to wait until he voluntarily left, but Hidan had never been a patient man, while Kakazu had a small bit of patients more than his partner. The term small was used heavily. After one of his hidden storages had been raided he had grown increasingly impatient in collecting more money to make up for his losses. They had used the information that Itachi had given them on their target to come up with a new plan. Using their targets morals and his recklessness, they planned to draw the target towards them. And if the Anbu who were shadowing them were anything to go by then their plan was working.

Hidan and Kakazu suddenly stopped when the entire forest went silent. The silence was a clear sign that they had been surrounded. They jumped in opposite directions when three giant human like demons crashed down from in between them.

"What the fuck are those ugly things?" yelled Hidan as he stared at the new comers.

As if recognizing his question a flute began to play. The three demons turned their attention towards Hidan and began their assault against him. Kakazu who had been busy taking on the group of Anbus assaulting him didn't noticed how Hidan was being moved further and further away from him till it was too late. He had been able to deflect or simply dodge the strikes aim at him till Katsuo dashed out towards him and with a quick slash cut horizontally across his cloak. Using a nearby lake he performed quick water jutsu. Kakazu was able to create a barrier and put some distance in between him and his opponents. He reached up and removed his now ruined cloak to reveal his stitched up body and the four masks that covered his back. Katsuo and the other Uzu ninja with him had noticed the odd way that Kakazu's body would convulse every now and then as if something was slithering inside him. Having lost the element of surprise they slowly inch closer.

An over eager Anbu had dashed forward grabbing the sword on his back with the intent to decapitate the missing nin. Everyone had prepared to overwhelm him only to stop from shock when Kakazu's left arm seemingly detached itself and met the first Anbu halfway. The only thing that connected Kakazu's arm with the rest of his body were multiple strands of black threads. The hand grabbed the Anbu and Kakazu reared back the rest of his arm flinging the Anbu towards a tree. The Anbu using years of experience flipped himself in midair and landed feet first onto the tree. As soon as his feet touched the tree he ricochet off of it and towards Kakazu's back. What he hadn't been prepared for was one of the masks on Kakazu's back to free itself and blast him with a stream of lightning. The others watched on in horror as the mass of threads bearing only a white mask flew over their comrades charred corpse and turn it's attention to them.

Two more of the masks leapt out of Kakazu with the same threaded bodies as their counter part. The other ninjas began moving once more as torrents of lightning, wind, and fire were sent in the directions. Katsuo made a bee line for Kakazu with his sword drawn. The missing nin sent his two arms barreling towards the red garbed swordsman. Two quick swings of his sword were all Katsuo needed to dismember the limbs and continue his charge. He swung his sword in a arc towards his opponents neck, intent on finishing this. His eye's widened when instead of hearing metal slicing through flesh, he heard a clang and watched as his sword bounced off Kakazu skin. The disembodied arms quickly reconnected themselves with the stretch out black threads that lay on the ground nearby. Afterwards they darted back towards their owner allowing Kakazu to punch Katsuo in the face. The punch he received had felt like he was hit with a rock and had caused him to stumble several steps backwards. Using his opponents opening Kakazu sent his hand out grabbing him and sending him airborne.

One of the masks that had been chasing the other whirlpool nins turned it's attention to a free falling Katsuo and sent a volley of fire towards him. Seeing the immediate danger Katsuo cut his hand and sent a trail of blood that wrapped around a tree branch just in time to pull him out of the way of the flames. The other Uzu nins finally began firing their own jutsu back at the masks in an attempt to combat the flying monstrosities. Katsuo unwrapped his blood whip from the tree before cutting his other hand. With both hands cut he allowed the blood to slide down his grip and slowly cover his blade. No longer underestimating his opponent Kakazu began dodging the bloodied strikes that were sent his way while returning with his own attacks.

* * *

**With Hidan and the others**

Despite the fact that Hidan was a close range fighter who relied on his triple bladed scythe he was showing why he was considered an S rank missing nin. Tayuya's music demons had forced him to stay on the move but had hardly caused him to feel pressure. In fact he had allowed one of the demons to use it's club and hit him. Tayuya had grinned when she saw this thinking that she had finally scored a hit but paled when she saw Hidan flying towards Satoru. The loose gloves on Satoru's hands fell off as he jumped back to avoid the swinging scythe. Hidan's weapon had only nicked him but still caught a small speck of blood on it's edge. Before Hidan had fully passed by, Satoru spun on the heel of his shoe and swiped his hand across the blade that held his blood.

Once Hidan had finally landed he brought the blade of his scythe to claim his prize only to stare baffled at the clean blade. The other whirlpool nins were just as shocked as Hidan, most thinking that it was over for Satoru. Tayuya only smirked having seen what Satoru had done from her spot in the tree she was hiding in. Using this chance she began playing a different tune on her flute, casting a genjutsu on the missing nin. Hidan instantly jumped to attention when he felt the subtle effects of a genjutsu. In one swift movement he pulled out a metal rod and jammed the end of it through his leg. The genjutsu ended immediately to reveal several ninja mere seconds away from over running him. He expertly swung his weapon in wide arcs warding off the overconfident nins. Most had changed their course in time to avoid the attacks, but some had acted too late and found themselves ripped to pieces by the three blades.

Seeing that her genjutsu would have little affect on someone who had no fears of inflicting pain on himself Tayuya began playing a tune again to command her three demons to reengage the masochist. Though this time she would be more careful about where here strikes would send her opponent.

* * *

**In the Uzukage office**

The screams that the radio had emitted every now and then whether they were warnings or the last words of someone who had been unfortunate enough to be hit with a fatal blow had caused the remaining three in the to stay silent. Hinata had been focusing on Naruto trying to give him any support she could, even if it was just her presence. It was easy to tell that Naruto had not been happy about this what so ever. The fact that his fists were balled and he was visibly shaking with obvious angers only clarified this.

Suddenly Naruto reached for the microphone attached to the communicator and set the frequency to match the one for the team dealing with Hidan.

"Satoru can you hear me?" said Naruto barely below a yell.

Their was static for a few seconds. "Yeah boss, loud and clear."

"Alright, everyone except Satoru is to retreat away from the fight! Satoru use it!" Naruto commanded.

As expected their were several voices of protest in response when all of a sudden a loud voice caused all protest to stop.

"HE GAVE YOU A FUCKING ORDER NOW GO!" shouted Tayuya over the radio.

Hearing several affirmatives Naruto got up and began putting on a radio set before flinging his Kage robes off.

Karin ran to block the door. "No Naruto I know it's hard, but you can't go out there."

"Karin this isn't your choice. I won't sit here while they're fighting and DYING for me! You said earlier that I needed to have faith in my ninja, well right now I need you to have faith in me." said Naruto.

Karin had given Hinata a pleading look to help but before either could act Naruto ran towards the window and crashed through it.

* * *

**Back with Satoru and Hidan**

Hidan looked towards the only whirlpool nin who had stayed behind. Satoru grin slowly grew on his face as he reached into a pouch in his back pocket. After a few seconds he pulled out a small object before tossing it onto the ground. Immediately the area filled with smoke blocking Hidan's view of his opponents. Not wanting to let his sacrifice escape him a second time he jumped into the smoke swinging. The smoke had begun to dissipate with every powerful swing until Hidan had seen an unprepared Satoru. With his prey insight Hidan began a barrage of slashes forcing Satoru back further and further. A sadistic smile crossed his face when he saw Satoru back up into a large tree. Taking one last swing, Hidan cleaved through the whirlpool nin only to become confused when his opponent smiled and began to turn white.

"What the..." He was cut off by a large explosion.

Satoru who was resting next to a tree facing to Hidan's back couldn't help but smile at his handiwork. The smoke slowly cleared to show a heavily burned Hidan.

"There's... n-no fucking... way you can use his abilities." said Hidan seething from the pain the burns were causing him.

Satoru's only response was to lift one of his hands showing a mouth on it with it's tongue hanging out mockingly. Hidan took a closer look and saw a small bit of blood on the tongue of the mouth causing him to only rant more.

"That's how you... there's still no fucking way you could use Deidara's blood limit."

"Well your right about that friend. We couldn't find a way to extract his explosive blood limit. But then again it's not like we need it to duplicate what your pal did. I am still going to have to thank the boss for asking me to act as a test subject. Making copies of the forbidden jutsu on Deidara's hands were easy once our medics learned how it worked. That's where this comes into play.' said Satoru pulling up one of his jacket's sleeves to reveal several different seals on his arm.

He chuckled for a second before continuing. "Boss warned me that if things didn't work out right with the seals that I could risk blowing off my arms. In fact he didn't let me test out my hands till two weeks of intense studying. The seals add an explosive element much like you find in explosive tags. While one of the seals does this the others insure that none of the chakra that have had this explosive element added won't travel through my chakra system and only towards the mouths on my hands. There are several other seals as safety precautions but in the end it all forms this beautiful piece of work. You know I have to thank you. This is the first time boss has given permission to use this. Although that's as far as it goes, cause I'm going to turn you into nothing but tiny chunks for what you've done to my pals."

"I'd like to see you try fucker!" yelled Hidan.

Satoru pulled out a scroll and wiped a small bit of blood across it. Two large pouches with leather straps thudded on the ground. Hidan recognizing what they were for began charging forward. Before Hidan could get within eight feet of him Satoru aimed his had forward and shot out two ball of clay. Hidan moved to the side to avoid the two projectiles but was blown to the side when Satoru held up his hand with only his index finger and middle finger extended. By the time Hidan had gotten to his feet again Satoru had already put the straps over his shoulders so that they formed an x over his body. He reached into them and grabbed a mouthful in each hand and began molding them.

Blinded by rage, Hidan began charging at Satoru and wildly swinging his scythe. This made it easy to dodge the offending weapon despite it's multiple blades. Wanting some space in between him and Hidan, Satoru threw a small glob of clay. The clay had hit Hidan in the face and the explosion had caused him to stumble back several feet. His entire face was scorched his entire face and for once he could honestly say he was literally seeing red.

"I'm going to make you pay for that you fucking asshole. aaaahh."

Satoru ignored the threat and simply placed a clay model cherry blossom tree on the ground. He calmly took a few steps back and watched as the tree suddenly grew to life like size. Hidan who had finally gained his sight back looked at the white tree.

"A tree! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" said Hidan laughing at the sight before him.

Satoru had just finished his hand signs. He took a deep breathe before blowing a strong wind towards the tree. The wind wasn't strong enough to knock the tree over but it was strong enough to blow the leaves off. Seeing the multiple leaves dance in the strong wind towards him caused Hidan to dodge to the side. What he didn't count on was the wind to suddenly follow him. He took a pointless swing with his weapon and was covered by the several white cherry blossoms. Satoru who was simply leaning on the now bare tree simply put his hand into a familiar sign.

"I told you. I'd turn you into chunks." said Satoru before activating the explosions.

The hundreds upon hundreds of small explosives went of and caused tremors to go off. Satoru watched as the embers died out and small pieces of the man fall down. Tayuya had shortly joined him afterwards.

"So you beat him." Tayuya pointed out.

As he was replaying a thud caused them to snap their attention else where. Apparently Hidan's head had miracously survived the brunt of the explosion. Immediately the now bodiless man began cursing Satoru out as if his words alone would beat him. Tuning out most of it Satoru walked over to the head before picking it up by the hair and slapping a bit of clay over the mouth.

"You know Tayuya, I don't mind when you curse. But this guy just gets on my nerves."

Tayuya smiled towards Satoru before letting out a good laugh.

* * *

**Back with the fight with Kakazu**

An unfortunate Uzu Jonin got swept up by a gust of wind by one of the masked creatures only to be scorched by another's fire. Several of the Uzu nins were either dead or injured and Katsuo was finding himself in serious trouble when some of the masks began aiding their master in the fight. At one time their was an explosion that rocked the earth hard enough to cause everyone to lose their balance. Katsuo had tried to use this to his advantage and swung his blood whip at Kakazu, only for the thread infested man to use his hands as a spring and bounce away. At the moment Katsuo was tired, low on blood pills, and unsure if he himself would be able to survive. Suddenly a forth mask burst from Kakazu's back and had buried itself underground. With a new foes presence who he could not see join in the fight Katsuo felt the last of his hope disappear.

Determined not to go down alone Katsuo began a kamikaze dash towards Kakazu. A voice boomed throughout the forest and halted Katsuo in his tracks.

"Everyone retreat now!" yelled Naruto.

Not one to disobey an order, Katsuo began his retreat, but not before looking at his leader and warning him.

"Sir. There are four masks. Each one with a different element. The three flying around have fire, lightning, and wind. There is a fourth one but it's underground. I believe it has earth element, while it was in his body my sword felt like it was hitting a rock when I hit his flesh."

Having given his message Katsuo continued retreat. Seeing that Katsuo was out of sight Naruto created three shadow clones and sent them after a different mask. Each mask turned their attention to the clone aimed at them and blasted it with a different element. Though Naruto's clones were destroyed they served their purpose. With the information from the clones, he now knew which mask did what from the markings and beast they represented. Naruto ran to the wind mask first knowing full well that as long as the masks existed he would have no chance to fight Kakazu with out his attention split in five directions. The mask began expelling a torrent of wind in which Naruto countered with his own wind style jutsu. The two winds clashed, neither pushing the other away. Another mask saw it's opening on Naruto and sent five large fireballs in his direction. Naruto sensing the heat barreling towards him from the side, canceled his jutsu and allowed himself to be swept off the ground and hurdle towards a tree. He flipped his body in time to land on his feet and performed another flip to jump over the lightning blast and the masked creature that emitted it.

While he was still over the mask he swung a back hand. He averted his attack when he saw the mask cover it's body in lightning and instead used his other hand to perform a one handed hand sign. Naruto gathered a large amount of chakra in his mouth before expelling two water bullets from his mouth. The two blasts hit the electrified mask and completely soaked it. The mask let out an ear piercing scream as it's own lightning now shocked itself. The mask cracked and broke apart causing the remaining thread to fall lifeless. Realization dawned on Naruto, but he wasn't allowed to think further as the underground mask revealed it's location beneath Naruto's airborne form. He spun his body around and launched his last water bullet. His last two water bullets had been weakened forms of the attack and this last one had acted as it should and sped down hitting the mask with the force of a bullet.

The earth mask had shifted just enough to avoid the full force of the attack but was still sent flying back to the ground cracked and damaged. Naruto leapt back as his feet hit the ground narrowly avoiding the wind and fire blasts that came at him from opposite directions. Ignoring the other two masks he looked for the earth mask to find it slowly making it's way towards Kakazu. Wasting no time Naruto charged up a Rasengan and dashed off towards the damaged creature. His attack connected and left nothing of the creature except for the black threads that now rain down like confetti.

Having lost half of his mask, Kakazu ordered the other two back towards him. The masks obey and leapt back into their master. Naruto could do nothing but watch as the masks had reformed in Kakazu and the man's body begin to shift and convulse. The threads in his body began to burst from his back as the fire and wind masks shifted till they were positioned on opposite sides of Kakazu's shoulders. Naruto having had plenty of practice with fire and wind elements, had a good idea of what the whole purpose of this transformation was for. He leapt to the side just in time to dodge a wind powered fire blast. Naruto ran to the lake that Kakazu had used earlier and formed two shadow clones. The original Naruto began a long sequence of hand signs while the other two formed quick hand signs as a another blast of fire came their way. Two sets of water barriers were raised in time to block the attack. Seeing that their barrier barely held up against the attack they changed their strategy and sped through another sequence of hand signs. Kakazu, seeing his earlier barrages blocked had now sent a long continuous stream of fire and wind. The two clones countered the attack with their own fire and wind attack.

The two blasts collided and fought for dominance. Unfortunately the two clones didn't have as much chakra as Kakazu had and were slowly losing the fight. The water around Naruto spun around him rapidly as he finished his hand signs and a large dragon of ice formed from it. The dragon charged towards the fire blast and flew through it as if it didn't exist. Kakazu used the threads from his back to wrap around two trees and lift himself off the ground. Seeing this Naruto guided the dragon towards the missing nins floating body. Not fast enough to dodge the attack, Kakazu was hit dead on. The dragon smashed into him continuously till it's whole body passed through. When the attack was finished all that could be seen was Kakazu's frozen body. The threads that held his body up gave away due to it's weakened state and the frozen man's body broke into several pieces when it collided with the ground.

Naruto took no joy in his victory. It had changed nothing as far as he was concerned. Several of his ninja lay dead on the ground and there would be more Akatsuki members that would come for him. He walked over to the remains of Kakazu's body and broke off the head of the man hoping to prevent any bizarre reanimation that the man might have been capable of performing.

"Hey boss can that head also talk." said Satoru as he made his way over with Tayuya walking with him.

The two saw the grim look on his face and noticed the far heavier casualties on this side of the fight. Deciding that this was no times for jokes, Satoru kept his mouth closed and simply kept his mouth closed and handed Hidan's head to Naruto. The body less man had glared defiantey at Naruto but couldn't help the small tingle of fear that scratched at the back of his mind as Naruto looked back towards him.

* * *

**Two days later**

Hinata stood at the docks with her Hyuga guard along with Naruto and several other Uzu Anbu. She didn't like the danger his life was in now. But she had taken his words to heart when he told Karin to have faith in him. His words had only been solidified in her mind as she watched him fight Kakazu and his four mask creatures. During the time she had stayed hidden knowing their was very little she could do to help him in the fight without getting in the way.

Walking up to him she hugged him and he returned the embrace. Neither one of them wanted to say good bye. As she hugged him her mind thought of how he looked in his Uzukage robes. He wasn't really that much taller than her, but he looked so much older and seemed untouchable in his robes. His words echoed through her thoughts again. _'I won't sit here while they're fighting and DYING for me! You said earlier that I needed to have faith in my ninja, well right now I need you to have faith in me.'. _The words had been directed towards Karin, but at the same time she felt like they were for her to hear as well.

While he was holding her Naruto thought about how he wanted to go with her and ensure that she was ok till she arrived in Konoha, but right now he couldn't. He owed it to the men that died to ensure that they had received the burial they deserved. Out of the twenty-four he sent to fight the two Akatsuki members ten of them died. Some of the ninja that had died had no family but he had personally informed each of the family members of the death of those that did have family. He had to prepare a memorial for those that died and wouldn't be absent for his own selfish desires.

The two held each other for a bit longer before separating. They gave each other a quick kiss. Naruto handed a heavy and thick box to the Hyuga guard.

"I have already sent a message to Konoha informing Tsunade about this box, please deliver it the Hokage." said Naruto.

Though it was phrased as a request the guard recognized it as a demand and simply nodded. Naruto turned his attention back to Hinata and handed her a small letter.

"Please give this to Shikamaru. I wish you didn't have to leave right now but I understand."

They hugged each other again before Hinata and her guard boarded the ship. Hinata took a look at the simple note to only find three simple words written on it.

**MAKE HIM PAY!**


	8. Chapter 8: A Time For Relaxing

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Usuegi belongs to Trife but Satoru Yasuhiro belongs to me

Chapter 8: A Time for Relaxing

* * *

**Konoha**

Tsunade took a quick sip of her sake while Shizune had her back turned. She herself would admit that she had cut back on how often she drank but the idea that she would ever fully give up sake was a long shot. A knock on the door stopped her from sneaking another shot of her drink.

"Yes, come in." said Tsunade

The doors opened to reveal a Chunin. Said man walked to the Hokage's desk and laid a blue scroll on her desk before giving a quick bow and dismissing himself. She looked closer at the scroll and smiled when she recognized the red whirl pool design in the middle of the scroll. It had been four months since Hinata had returned from her trip with a package from Naruto. Having already received a letter explaining what was in the package she had one of her Anbu drop off the disembodied head to Ibiki's office. She had turned her attention back to Hinata and began questioning her on how Naruto was doing.

She felt bad for the couple knowing about the agreement between the two arguing sides of the Hyuga council. A ninja's life was chaotic as it was but in there situation, they were living in two different and distant villages, Naruto was his villages Kage and Hinata was the daughter of the head clan member of the Hyuga. As it was the distance would cause strain on the relationship and now they had a limited amount of time to spend with each other.

However a week after Hinata had returned, Tsunade had received a message from Naruto. When she opened the letter she was puzzled by what was written in it.

**_Dear Grandma Tsunade_**

**_I'm sure that this will sound rather silly or childish but lately I've been_**

**_wanting a particular food item that is not within Uzu. I know that I could_**

**_just simply ask you to have the company that sells you the item I want send_**

**_an order to me. _****_But I would simply prefer to pay you for your supplies and services. _**

**_As _****_I'm sure you've already guessed I would like some ramen delivered to _**

**_Uzu, at least two units which I believe holds twenty four cups each. _**

**_As we both know I'm very protective of ramen and would also like you _**

**_to send a escort. I have listed the team I would like sent at the bottom of_**

**_this letter. If the team is currently not available then I can wait until the team_**

**_is available. _**

**_Thank you_**

**_Naruto Uzumaki_**

Tsunade shook her head. Leave it to Naruto to go to great lengths to get ramen. She gave the bottom of the letter a curious glance and burst into a fit of laughter when she saw the team Naruto had requested for. Yes, leave it to Naruto to do something exactly like this. She put the letter to the side and gave another laugh. There was no doubt that Naruto would be impatient for the arrival of the ramen, but it would be one of the escorts that he would be waiting for. Tsunade had to hand it to Naruto. When he wanted to be smart he could. Hinata was only allowed to take one trip to see Naruto a month, but that didn't mean she couldn't go to Uzu on missions. If she just so happened to run into Naruto then what could the Hyuga council do about that.

Putting her thoughts aside she opened the scroll that had just been put on her desk. Reading over the contents and taking more sips of her sake periodically.

* * *

**Five days later in Uzu**

Naruto walked out of his bathroom dressed in nothing but a towel. He wasted no time in grabbing a random kimono and putting it on and only giving a small glance at the rest of his attire. In truth he would have put the rest of it on, but the pain that racked his body had made him very hesitant. After his fight with Kakuzu he had thought about picking up a new training routine. His fight with Kakuzu had been a hard one but not to the point that he was worried. Once Naruto had stop thinking about the lost lives of his ninja and his anger towards the Akatsuki all but vanished and he thought back to the fight.

Confusion was the last thing he expected to feel. He was powerful, he knew that, but to go into a fight with any Akatsuki member and come out of it completely untouched was unnatural. He decided to play the fight over in his head several times. Originally he thought that it was his speed that allowed him to dodge all of the attacks, but when he compared the fight to one of his training sessions he realized that it wasn't his speed, at least not by itself. Oh his speed did help out but if his reflexes weren't as good as they were then his speed wouldn't have been any use. Odd, speed means nothing if you can't react in time to use it.

His new training revolved around the goal of making his reflexes better. The new training was similar in the way that he was still using shadow clones but the changes he did make seemed to be making a huge difference. Instead of simply making around eight or less shadow clones he made nearly a hundred and decided to wear some training weights while fighting them. He only wore enough weight to make himself just a bit slower than his clones. Telling his clones to come at him with the intent to kill him was the last touch to his training. The last part was necessary otherwise he would simply be increasing his speed. He needed some type of motivation to force his mind and body to react quicker. Of course this caused some serious injuries and not just ones inflicted by his shadow clones.

Taking a second from his thoughts he reached up and messaged his left shoulder. During one of his sessions he threw a reckless punch. The punch missed and the force behind his fist along with the momentum of the weight caused his arm to dislocate itself from his shoulder. He never wanted to experience something... like that again. It hadn't been that long ago since he had trained and in truth some sleep was a welcoming thought. As he made his way to his bed he thought about how Hinata was doing and when she and the others would be arriving.

'Hopefully after I've recovered. I don't want them to see me in such bad shape.' thought Naruto.

* * *

**Two hours later**

Hinata walked ahead of the group through the forest to Uzu. Tsunade,Kiba,Shino,Jiraiya, and Kurenai along with the remaining members of team Asuma followed behind Hinata patiently. The group had noticed the small changes in Hinata during the trip. It seemed that the closer they got to Uzu the more excited and impatient she got. In fact some could swear the pace of the walk had increased. Kurenai and Team Asuma were surprised when they were told to come to the Hokage office only to find that they were being invited to a festival being held in Uzu.

The scroll Naruto had sent was a invitation for Team Kurenai and Team Asuma. Naruto had written down that he was holding a festival in Uzu to celebrate it's success and to pay tribute to those who fought the Akatsuki members that invaded Uzu. Seeing as Kurenai, Shikamaru,Ino, and Choji were close to Asuma whether as his students or lover, Naruto felt that they should come. Of course he made sure to have Kurenai's team to come as well. Wouldn't want to miss a chance to spend time with Hinata.

Speaking of said Hyuga, she had turned her head to look back at her sensei. The Genjutsu expert was a tall and slender women with shoulder length untamed hair and unique red eyes. Her skin was rather pale and she had begun wearing a light red maternal dress thanks to the obvious signs of her pregnancy, a fact that Hinata took into consideration and went at a slow pace despite her want to go faster. Kurenai at the moment seemed calm, but Hinata knew that she was still suffering from the Asuma's death. Hinata understood what her sensei was going through, Naruto's fake death wasn't any easier for her.

Turning her attention away from her sensei and towards Naruto's used to be sensei or the pervy sage as Naruto called him, she couldn't help but feel worried about him coming along. Luckily Naruto had let go of any negative feelings he had for the man, but the thing that worried her were the stories Naruto told her about him. She had known that he was the author of an adult romance novel, but she had not known about his other ... hobbies. Ever since Naruto had told her why he called the great toad sage the pervy sage, Hinata couldn't bring herself to look the man in the eyes.

Finally the one sight she had been waiting for came in view. Hinata stared at the Uzu gates with a longing look as if she hadn't been there in years. Seeing the look on Hinata's face Tsunade sighed.

"Go on ahead Hinata. We all know how your just dying to see him."

Hinata didn't even give her Hokage a chance to take back what she said or tell her she was joking and instantly took off. The rest of the group chuckled at her eagerness and watched as she closed the distance to the gates in a matter of seconds.

The gate guards having recognized Hinata from a distance sent someone to alert Karin. Having gone through the routine several times Hinata waited patiently until Karin showed up. The second she saw Naruto's sister she opened her mouth before anyone else could.

"My name is Hinata Hyuga."

Karin chuckled. "Your always impatient when it comes to Naruto, you know I think he's rubbing off on you."

Hinata took it as a compliment and smiled. "It's not such a bad thing. The rest of the group will be here shortly. I'll just go on and head to the Uzukage office."

"Wait Hinata! He's at home." said Karin.

Hinata gave a quick thank you and continued on her way.

Karin turned around and waited on the others to arrive, luckily she didn't have to wait that long. Tsunade already had the invitation out along with some other things to proof who she was.

"Alright now all I need you to do is state your names and you'll be aloud to enter."

The group gave her a few puzzled looks except for Kiba and Shino who had been through the process. They stated their names and waited for the others to do so as well. When it came to Jiraiya's turn he had tried to do his dance and pose but found himself interrupted.

"Just state your name!" said an irritated Karin.

Jiraiya was a little dejected that he wouldn't get to use his normal introduction but did as he was told.

After confirming everyone's identity she lead them to a hotel with rooms reserved for them.

* * *

**Naruto's house**

Hinata walked up to the giant stone wall that surrounded the Uzumaki estate. Two red doors were the only noticeable signs of a way in. She used her Byakugan to marvel at the several chakra signatures outlining the seals hidden all along the walls. Naruto had put them there himself to prevent people from just simply walking up the wall. This didn't stop a few kids from trying and paralyzing themselves till someone took them to the hospital and had the effects of the seals removed from them. Walking up to the door she put her hand against the smooth red wood and waited till the sound of a metallic click went off till she opened the door. She treasured how Naruto had her chakra added to the seal of the door so she could get in.

The yard filling the estate was large and the only thing filling in the open space was a rather normal sized two floor house. She had asked him why he and his sisters didn't live in a bigger building such as a mansion or some form of building meant for royalty or such. Naruto's reply was something she didn't expect.

_I'm not used to living in such a place. Besides this is all we need at the moment. When I have kids I'll start working on making this place bigger and more fancy._

Hinata remembered blushing after he mentioned the part of kids. Closing the door behind her she looked around the living room hoping to find Naruto close by.

"Naruto." she called out.

Not getting a response she walked up the stairs leading towards his room. Giving a gentle knock before slowly opening the door. She spotted him on his bed and made her way over to him. Sitting down on the bed she watched his chest rise and fall slowly as he breathed. She took a quick scan of the room of the simple room. The dresser had a mirror attached to it and was just big enough to carry some casual and relaxing clothes. He had a book shelf mostly filled with his mother's family history. Besides the closet that held much of his kimonos and the table next to her, the bed was the last bit of furniture in the room and even it was barely big enough for two.

Hinata smiled at the last thought and moved herself further onto the bed and closer to Naruto. Turning her attention to the red head she wondered how he would look with his old blonde hair again. Using her imagination she began to slowly change some of his features. After the changes were made she ended up with a blonde long haired and whisker faced tan version of him. It was odd to her how she found both versions of him attractive in their own rights.

Too caught up in her imagination she never noticed the arm that snaked it's way around her till she felt her body suddenly jolt. Opening her eyes she had expected to find blue eyes staring at her. Instead she saw that Naruto was still sleeping except now he had his arms around her. Hinata giggled a little and moved her arms to his back. A few months ago she would have been too embarrassed or shy to enjoy the moment. When Naruto's face scrunched up she got worried and wondered what was wrong. She activated her Byakugan and blushed immediately realizing that he was wearing nothing under his kimono. She shook her head and focused harder on her eyes. When her sight saw through his skin and saw the shape his muscles were in she gasp.

'Naruto what have you been doing?'

His muscles had several signs of strains and were even torn in some places. Luckily she saw that they were healing themselves with help from the red chakra. She removed her arm from under him and moved it to wrap around his neck. His face went calm again and he let out a content sigh. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to get out of the hold without waking him, she closed her eyes and simply resigned herself to enjoy the moment. The shape his body was in told her that he needed to rest and it wasn't like she wanted to move.

* * *

Naruto stirred as he began to make his slow way towards waking. He felt his arms had wrapped themselves around something. Enjoying the warmth he felt, he pulled the thing closer to him. A pleasant sensation introduced itself to him as something soft and slightly wet grazed his neck. A small groan escaped his lips. He shifted his legs to a more comfortable position hoping to get rid of the new pressure he felt on his crotch. Only problem was he couldn't seem to find a good position around the thing in his arms. Finally he found a slight opening in between the thing and slid his leg through.

Naruto's eyes shot open when he heard a soft but audible moan and the thing he held squirmed in his grasp. He slowly looked down to see a girl with long dark hair. Though it was morning, the sun had yet to rise and left him with little light to see. The fact that her face was hidden from view didn't help. He carefully thought over the events of yesterday leading up to now.

'Alright as far as I know I didn't have a drop of liquor. I helped and watched over the preparations for the festival. Afterwards I looked over some mission reports and enjoyed a bowl of ramen. Alright what did I do after that.'

He moved his legs so that he wasn't exactly rubbing against the girl. The pain from his muscles caused him to cringe.

'That's right, I trained. Afterwards I took a nice long bath **_alone, _**and went to bed **_alone. _**So why is someone in bed with me? For that matter who is this?'

Moving slowly he scooted away from the girl but he was still having trouble seeing the details of her face with out a decent light source. Getting out of bed he went over to the window and stared at the sky. It wouldn't be too long before the sun rose but he was rather impatient to find out who was in his bed. The girl began reaching out and trying to grasp out for something.

"Naruto."

Hearing the familiar voice caused a sly smile to appear on Naruto's face. He made his way back towards the bed and resettled himself next to Hinata.

'I guess they decided to come early. She's still asleep, might as well give her a nice wake up.'

He pressed his lips against hers and waited for her to respond. It didn't take long for lips to start mimicking the kiss. Seeing that she still hadn't woken up he pulled way and watched as she tried to follow. She let out a small whine from having lost the sensation. Hearing her caused him to let out a small chuckle before reengaging the kiss. As they kissed he felt her arms wrap around his neck to prevent him from pulling away again.

Soon the kiss became something more as their lips became hungrier. At this point Naruto knew that Hinata was awake despite her closed eyes. His hand glided up her back and through her hair. Without being too rough he pulled her hair back and nibbled on her neck while placing several kisses here and there.

She finally opened her eyes and yelped as she felt a particular hard bite. Naruto snickered as he placed a few kisses over the now red bite mark.

"You can't fake sleeping now."

"That wasn't nice Naruto. You could have told me you knew I was awake." she said with a pout.

Naruto let out another chuckle. "What fun would that have been?"

'I guess Tayuya was right to call him a smart ass.' thought Hinata happily

She snuggled closer to him. Naruto smiled as he felt her kiss his neck.

"O-Ouch." yelped Naruto as Hinata returned the bite.

He heard her giggle as she moved her head away from his neck and looked him in the eyes.

"That will teach you." she said.

'Wow getting rid of her shyness is kinda a double edge sword.' thought Naruto.

Another thought crossed his mind. "Not that I mind but what are you doing in my bed?"

Hinata blushed from the question. "Well I had just come to see how your doing but you pulled me into the bed."

"Oh, I see. Sorry about that." said Naruto.

"You don't have to apologize. It's not like I didn't like it." she said.

Naruto looked around and groaned as he realized just how bright it was. He had wanted to lay in bed with Hinata a little longer. Looking over at his door his eyes widened.

"Um, you didn't by chance lock the door when you came in."

Hinata's face went bright red as she slowly shook her head.

Getting up that morning just became even more bothersome.

* * *

The next few days went by without much trouble. Luckily it was Karin who found Naruto and Hinata sleeping and had told the others that Hinata was sleeping in a spare room at the Uzumaki house. So other than a few teasing words nothing else came from it. Naruto continued watching over the work on the decorations and preparations for the festival. He had tried to continue his training but his girl friend instantly put a stop to it. Not wanting to worry her he decided to drop the training routine, it's not like he wouldn't enjoy the days where his body didn't feel like it went through a shredder.

The leaf nin for the most part stayed out of Naruto's way not wanting to bother him while he was working. Though Tsunade had made her envy quite clear at the fact that Naruto seemed to have to deal with less paper work than her. Naruto had chuckled at this, he didn't want to tell her that all he simply did was have Tazuna look over any civilian related paper work. If Tazuna ran into something that needed his attention then and only then did it make it's way to Naruto.

As the sun was dying down Naruto began preparing to go to the festival. He began putting on the relaxing clothes made especially for the festival. His clothes were still blue but seemed to have a lighter shine thanks to the fabric they were made from. His sleeveless short kimono and pants were loose on him and tide off with an orange sash. Despite the fact that he hadn't worn the color in so long it was mostly to do with the fact that it just didn't seem right on him, at least not in large quantities. The last piece of his outfit was a large coat similar to Tsunade except it was decorated with several whirlpools and waves. Having finished he headed towards where the festival would start.

* * *

After giving a speech about the purposes of the festival and listing those who died against the two Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakazu the festival began. At the moment Naruto was looking for Hinata while carefully weaving through the bustling crowd of people enjoying themselves. It didn't take him long to find her. Hinata smiled when she saw Naruto's eyes scanning her.

She had pulled her hair back into a high pony tail with her bangs left to drape down the sides of her face. With some help from Kurenai she had some make up applied, red lipstick, a little eyeliner, and a small touch of blush on her cheeks. The long white kimono she wore was decorated with light purple butterflies and was wrapped with a dark purple sash that had been tied up in the back. Despite the bustling crowd around them Naruto could hear the soft padding of her sandals as she took small steps to him.

'Or is that my heart, I can't really tell.' thought Naruto.

Hinata waited silently for Naruto to respond and giggled when she saw his awe struck face.

"Wow, I-I mean you look... wow!" said Naruto not able to find the words to describe how she looked.

He couldn't tell if she was blushing from the small bits of make up on her cheeks.

"You look great as well, I'm glad to see that you wear a little orange still." said Hinata as she tugged on his sash.

Naruto chuckled at the comment. "Well lets go have fun."

Hinata nodded and followed.

As they walked Hinata marveled at the changes she saw. She loved how the different colored lanterns seemingly bathed the roads in colors and the smell of the food was truly welcoming while the smell of incense over powered and intoxicated her in some areas. The performers on the streets were mostly Gennins who wanted to show off little tricks to the kids who had yet to join the ninja academy.

She even saw Inari perform a few more advanced tricks, though he had decided to wear a porcelain mask he had bought at one of the many stands that surrounded the streets. Her worry couldn't be helped when she saw him toss a few sticks in the air and lighting them with a low level fire jutsu before juggling them. Luckily she had been informed that a few Anbu would be nearby in case one of the kids tricks got out of hand.

As they enjoyed themselves Hinata felt the looks being sent to her and Naruto's way. It slowly occurred to her that not all the looks were being sent to both of them and some were aimed specifically at her or Naruto. Naruto had been aware of this as well but tried not to show his discomfort._ Tried_ being the key word. She gave his arm a small squeeze in hopes to calm him down.

Both teens stopped when Kurenai walked in front of them.

"Naruto I just wanted to say thank you. I know I should have thanked you earlier but I really didn't want to bother you." said Kurenai.

"It's alright. But the person you should really thank is Satoru. He's the one that beat Hidan." Naruto replied.

"Well thank you anyway. Do you know where Satoru is?" asked Kurenai

Naruto shook his head. "No I don't but he shouldn't be too hard to find, his clothes I saw him wearing makes him stick out. Just try looking for someone wearing something very artistic and flashy. If you still can't find him try asking my sister Tayuya."

Kurenai gave a small bow and thanked him before leaving the two alone.

"Your sensei seems to be doing better." stated Naruto.

Hinata nodded. "I think it's this festival, it's lively mood is infectious."

* * *

Despite Naruto's statement about Satoru sticking out Kurenai couldn't seem to find the man. She soon found out why when she had found Naruto's foul mouthed sister. Tayuya no longer wore her bandana and was dressed in a festive grey kimono with various musical notes spiraling up the garment. Kurenai was surprised to see a kind smile on the girls face as she was browsing through some of the fold up fans. From what Kurenai had seen the girl was usually seen with a scowl except when Naruto was talking with her.

"You seem happy. Any particular reason?" said Kurenai hoping to stay on the girls good side.

The scowl returned to Tayuya's face as she regarded her intruder.

"I'm at a damn festival, do I really need a reason to be happy!" growled the ex-sound nin.

"Sorry I was just hoping to make light conversation." said Kurenai.

Tayuya didn't reply and had simply gone back to looking at the items for sale.

Seeing that the girl had no intentions of continuing the conversation Kurenai decided to get her goal out of the way.

"I'm looking for Satoru. Naruto said you might know where he is?" asked Kurenai.

For a second it didn't seem like Tayuya had any intentions of answering.

"He doesn't like big crowds. Try the roofs." said Tayuya

Kurenai repeated her actions with Naruto and left.

When she did find Satoru on one of the nearby roofs she nearly tripped when she saw what he was wearing. His attire consisted of a very long red kimono with gold lining. The back of the kimono had a phoenix skillfully depicted with it's feathers in colors of red and yellow. The tails of the feathers consisted of several red, orange, and yellow cloths that were attached to the back of his belt. The top half of his face was covered by a gold bird-like mask. How she hadn't noticed him laying on his side propping his head up with his hand she would never know.

"Naruto wasn't kidding when he said you'd stick out." said Kurenai, her voice full of surprise.

* * *

**Naruto's training ground**

After enjoying the festival for a few hours Naruto and Hinata left for a less populated area. They didn't want to go too far that they would miss the music or fire works. At the same time the crowds of people who would give them a little unwanted attention was beginning to get on both of their nerves. Luckily the training ground was close enough for them to see the fire works.

At the moment Naruto was sitting with his legs crossed and his back against a tree. Hinata had taken her favorite spot on his lap and was content with simply listening to the echoing music that could still be heard.

"Sorry." said Naruto

Hinata gave him a confused and worried look. "What for?"

"The stares, and the people gossiping. It seems like people still do that despite the fact that they don't know that I'm a jinchuriki." Naruto took a deep breathe and sighed.

She shook her head and gave him a small kiss. The kiss had ended too soon for Naruto. Hinata felt the same but she wanted to tell him what she thought.

"You can't help the stares, especially the ones aimed only at me." She gave him another kiss and was aware of the hand that was sliding up her back. "Your the U-Uzukage... and I'm the daughter of the Hyuga head clan member." This time Naruto was the one to initiate the kiss. "People are going to stare." another kiss. "and gossip."

Naruto gave a small nod to show he understood. He looked more closely to Hinata and noticed the blush on her face seemed darker and she was trying to hide a smile.

"What?" he asked.

She choose not to answer his question and just wiped one of her fingers across his lips. Looking at her finger he saw a small streak of red. As realization dawned on him she began to laugh. Hearing her laugh had caused a mischievous smile to grow on his face. Before Hinata could open her mouth to apologize she found herself on her back and Naruto hovering over her. Her current predicament had caused a longing she had been feeling for some time to resurface.

The feeling had been appearing for some time now and only seemed to be growing. She tilted her head up hoping to reach his lips. Naruto kept his head just out of reach, only putting enough room in between them to tease her. Unfortunately he felt like he was teasing himself at the same time, especially with the feel of her breath tickling his skin. Figuring that he had teased her enough he leaned down and kissed her. Hinata's arms instantly wrapped around his necks to deepen the kiss and prevent him from pulling away. The kiss quickly grew and Hinata could feel Naruto's roaming hands.

Naruto made sure to keep enough control over his hands to make sure they didn't go anywhere Hinata was uncomfortable with. Their lips broke away just long enough to get a little air before continuing the make out session. The coat Naruto wore was quickly growing unbearable with the increased temperature. He flung the coat off and immediately felt better when he felt the cool air touch his arms.

Having been used to seeing Naruto wearing his leather armor Hinata took the time to stare at the free flesh and her hands began doing a little roaming of their own. Naruto watched as her hands traveled up the side of his arms, slowly memorizing the feel of his muscles. The look of enjoyment on Hinata's face brought a since of pride and want to Naruto.

Curious to know how Hinata's skin felt, he began studying her kimono looking for an opening that wasn't too close to one of the red zones. He finally found it as he noticed that one of her legs were exposed. Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and froze as she felt his hand slide up her thigh barely entering her kimono before sliding back down. She let out a shuddering breathe, silently hoping his hands would travel further up.

As her hands felt his arms she started sliding them up. Grabbing his head she pulled his face down and mashed her lips against his. One of her hands remained at the back of Naruto's head while the other slipped between the opening of his shirt. Naruto had stopped moving his hand but kept it firm on her thigh. The same hand that had been feeling his chest and sides was now trying to stealthily remove the sash that kept his shirt closed.

He decided against letting her know that he knew. It wasn't hard for him to see that she was nervous. Without the orange fabric restricting it, the blue shirt opened and fell to the ground. He enjoyed the feeling of her hands on his body and wished he could feel more of her skin, but the only way to do that would be to open the top of her kimono.

Sensing his urge Hinata removed one of her hands and grabbed the one Naruto had on her thigh. His mood dropped at the thought that she was removing it. Only for his eyes to widen when he felt his hand being guided into her kimono. Hinata took a second to loosen her own sash before allowing Naruto's hand complete access to her upper body. The kimono gave little resistance as Naruto pushed it open. His hand paused when he felt the bindings covering her breast and hesitated for a brief second before giving her breast a soft massage. The reward he got was a ill hidden moan as Hinata tried to cover her mouth.

Pulling her head up she kissed the left side of his chest. She could taste the small sheen of sweat that had formed with the help of the humid air and their fun. Looking back at his chest she could see the faint signs of her lipstick. Seeing the imprint she left had caused an odd happiness in her and she decided to add a few more. Naruto had been oblivious to the new marks on him as he began placing his own kisses on her. Hinata leaned her head back to give Naruto access to her neck. His kisses made their way down her neck and continued down her chest. He gave her cleavage a glance before placing a kiss their as well.

Sliding his hands back to her thighs, he messaged them as he lifted his upper body to look at her. Naruto didn't know how but at some point he had repositioned himself in between Hinata's legs. Trying to get control over the situation he took a few deep breathes. Looking up at Naruto, Hinata became aware of their position and froze again. She could feel his excitement pressed against her cover sex and could see the lust he was holding back.

She lifted herself off the ground and lightly pushed Naruto back trying to reverse their positions. Not understanding Hinata's intention he used his hands to keep him from laying back. Though the position they were in was not the one she intended she gave a small smile and continued with her plans. She pressed her body against his and brought her lips to his. While enjoying the taste of his lips and the feeling of his body she began reaching for the edge of her bindings.

_**SNAP**_

* * *

Initially he had come here due to the fact that he smelled something strange in the air. The smell was oddly familiar so he went to the origin. Once he found it he wished he hadn't. Walking in on two couples making out and getting carried away was the last thing he wanted to do. The little amount of moon light that was present wasn't helping Kiba identify the couple. Especially with the back of the guy facing his direction. Kiba had started to go back to the festival until he saw the guy pushed back a little and the girl repositioned herself somewhat on top of her boyfriend.

'Is that Hinata?'

He instantly noticed the lack of clothing on both of them. Putting two and two together Kiba stood stunned. He took an involuntary step forward when he saw Hinata preparing to undo her binding. He had the foresight to close his eyes and mentally curse when he stepped on the stick. Slowly opening his eyes he was presented with two sets of eyes, one bright blue and the other pupilless lavender staring daggers into him.

His instincts kicked in and instead of trying to explain himself he found himself running.

"Kiba I'm going to kill you!" shouted Naruto as he chased Kiba.

Kiba never thought that he would ever be scared of a man half naked and sporting various lipstick painted kiss marks all over his body.

* * *

**The next day**

Naruto sat at his desk silently fuming. Karin and Tayuya were both puzzled as to what had caused his mood to be so angry but had chosen to stay out of his business once he stated that it wasn't theirs. Last night Naruto had chased Kiba to the edge of the woods. When Naruto saw that he was only a few feet from reentering the festival and became aware of his appearance he chose to go back to Hinata. He wasn't embarrassed but he didn't want any more gossip to get started.

Once he got back to where he left Hinata he found that she had clumsily put her kimono back on. They had both considered starting off from where they left off. But Kiba's interruption had left them paranoid and in truth the mood had been murdered. So instead they went back to the Uzumaki household for the rest of the night.

Seeing them off was hard for Naruto. He didn't want Hinata to go and it took every fiber of his being not to rip the Inuzuka apart. If he did give into his desire then he would have to explain why he was doing so and he really didn't want the others to be privy to his and Hinata's relationship. Though he couldn't physically hurt Kiba this didn't stop him from sending as much killer intent and hate towards him as possible. Kiba had been wise during these moments and instead of challenging the glares he chose to hide. Something that didn't go unnoticed from the others.

As much as he wanted to find any reason he could to keep Hinata in Uzu he knew that he couldn't. Their good bye had been unusually harder than normal and he felt much better when The other Konoha nins had decided to give them some privacy. The second Hinata knew they were alone she smashed her lips against Naruto's trying to get as much out of the kiss as possible. Once the kiss ended Naruto had rested his forehead against hers.

"I don't want to go yet." she mumbled.

He squeezed his arms around her letting her know that he didn't want her to go either. When she wasn't around the days felt unfulfilled or dull. Keeping his mouth shut he just stood their knowing that nothing he said could prevent her from having to go back. Finally he decided to let go, but before he let go he was going to give his feelings words.

"I love you."

Her fingers tightened around his robes as she heard the words that she had waited so long to hear.

"I love you too." she returned his words.

With her Byakugan still activated she could see the Hokage making her way back towards them. Letting go of him had never been so painful. They said their goodbyes before Hinata began walking away to meet up with her Hokage.

* * *

Author's note: sorry for the long wait but I needed a break, shouldn't be needing another one till I've finished this fanfic. If you want you can think of this as a filler chapter. This chapter was never part of the original plot but I needed a chapter to slow down the plot and at the same time show developement in Naruto and Hinata's relationship. Sorry for those that got excited when it looked like I put in a sex scene. I don't exactly feel comfortable writing one. Please review and once again I'll be sure to get the next chapter out much sooner.


	9. Chapter 9: The End Of One Problem

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Uesugi belongs to Trife while Satoru Yasuhiro is my OC

Author's note: Yeah sorry for those of you that wanted to see Kiba get chewed out or something. If you want I could make an omake for it in the next chapter. I had originally

Chapter 9: The End To One Problem

* * *

Today wasn't starting off good at all, then again how could it? A few days ago Tsunade had informed him that one of their council members was coming to Uzu and was hoping to become _acquainted _with him. This wouldn't usually bother him, but the person that was coming was Danzo Shimura. Naruto remembered several times when he was a kid in the Hokage's office that Danzo and the Third Hokage would meet. Any time this happened one could practically cut the tension with a knife. He never did like the man as a kid and if what Tsunade told him about the council member was true, then he knew that this meeting was anything but friendly.

For some reason nothing was going right for him today. Danzo would be arriving at some point today, Hinata would not be able to visit soon due to a clan ceremony, and one of his most hated events just started and would last another week. Staring at the towers upon towers of paper work could mean only one thing. Tazuna started his vacation.

Looking through the paper work made Naruto really appreciate how hard Tazuna worked for him. He couldn't believe the number of duplicated paper work that was submitted by different council members but at the same time asked for the same thing. At one point Naruto had thought about simply creating a stamp that he could make the process faster. This had been a good idea till Karen asked him how he would prevent forgery. Luckily this statement gave birth to another idea. The last thing Naruto needed was his council members thinking they could try to go behind his back. He went back to signing the documents but had a stamp made that he could infuse chakra into. The idea was to create an invisible seal that would only become visible when his chakra was channeled into the paper. So far this had worked well and he had even prevented a few forgeries from being submitted.

Going through the tons of paper work Naruto had decided not to use his shadow clone. After years of using the technique he had discovered the pros and cons. The pros were that the clones created were exact copies of you. The cons... were that they were exact copies of you. Shadow clones were great when you wanted to do something but just needed more people. But if the thing you were planning to do was something you didn't want to do then the clones wouldn't want to do it either and in many cases would out right dispel themselves.

"Hey get the hell out of my way."

Naruto brightened up at hearing Tayuya's voice. If any one could provide a decent distraction from this work it was her. The door opened to reveal Tayuya holding yet another stack of papers. The tired Kage was tempted to get up and kick her out along with the papers.

"Where the fuck is all this paper work coming from!" asked Tayuya as she began looking at the towers.

Naruto let out a sigh. "Tazuna is taking vacation, so where he normally filters through all this crap I have to do so now."

Tayuya let out a scoff. "Sucks to be you right now. I don't see why you don't hire else to go through this paper work. It'd be at least a fucking D rank mission to at least get rid of all the damn duplicates."

Hearing this caused Naruto to raise one of his eyebrows. "You know that's not such a bad idea."

Tayuya gave him a blank look as if she couldn't believe he was even considering the idea. Deciding it was just better to ignore the comment, she sat down the papers before laying on one of the couches. She would stick around to at least see how this plan went. And if possible laugh at the poor saps that ended up with this job.

Naruto called for one of his Anbu and sent him off to gather some of the Genin teams. After some time a Genin team walked in with their Jonin sensei prepared to take on a mission.

"Glad to see you have responded. I need a team to perform a D rank mission." said Naruto.

The Genin all groaned and mumbled about wanting to have a higher ranked mission.

Before Naruto continued he revealed a evil smile. "Oh I am so glad you feel that way because this is no ordinary mission. In fact this mission can be quite dangerous for your mental health and could possibly drive you insane."

The Jonin sensei looked curiously at his Uzukage while the Genin all got excited at the prospect of getting a challenging mission.

"Well I'm glad to see that you all can't wait for this mission because you've been looking at it the entire time." said Naruto.

"Huh." said the trio of Genin

Naruto covered his mouth to hide his chuckle. "Oh yes. You see your mission is to go through this paper work and sort out all duplicate papers."

The only thing that could be heard in the room for a few seconds was Tayuya's vain attempts to hold her laughter in. As if on signal all three Genin started complaining while Tayuya's laughter could be heard above all of them. The Jonin quickly got his team to quiet down before addressing his leader.

"Sir as you can see my team is highly against doing this mission and I for one wouldn't want to risk my students' _mental health_."

Tayuya began laughing again despite nearly being out of breathe.

Naruto looked a little depressed. "Well I understand, you are dismissed."

The Jonin gave a quick bow before preparing to usher his team out of the room.

As he watched them leave his face went back to his smile as he spoke. "It's just such a shame."

The three Genin and their sensei stopped and turned.

"I mean this mission would pay twice the normal D rank mission and would go down as a A rank in all of your records, but if you don't want to do it... I guess I'll just have to find another team to."

Before he could finish his sentence the trio began protesting again. Smiling the entire time, Naruto began giving them instructions on what he wanted them to do before sitting back down in his chair and watching. It was rather fun to watch the Genin go through the paper work and get frustrated over how idiotic or unnecessary some of the requests that were written on the papers. A few hours later the Genins and their sensei left looking as if they had spent the entire time stuck in an insane asylum.

Naruto smiled as he looked down at the three small stacks of paper that had been placed neatly at his desk.

"Well that worked out better than I thought it would, but what are you going to do next time. It's not like you can just keep fucking handing out double pay and high marks in records repeatedly just to make paper easier work for you." said Tayuya.

Naruto nodded at what Tayuya said. She was right, he couldn't keep doing that. Looking down at the large pile of papers that had been dumped on the floor he got up and created shadow clone. Transforming the clone into a large bag, he began putting the trash in it. Afterwards he had one of his Anbu gather the council members. One way or another he wasn't going to be dealing with this again.

* * *

The council members waited for their Uzukage to arrive. Some bickered about him being late to a meeting he called for while others were curious to the nature of the meeting. The door swung open and Naruto made his way to the long rectangular table. He didn't bother sitting down and instead dumped the contents he had in his bag. One of the council members picked up one of the many pages and gave it a quick look.

"Don't worry everyone this meeting will be quick. Now as I'm sure some of you can tell theses papers are most of the forms you have been sending me." said Naruto pointing to the large pile.

The civilian side looked at the paper work confused and slightly worried while the shinobi side hid their thoughts from their faces.

"The fact that most of these documents ask or talk about the same thing is nothing but a waste. All these papers are nothing but duplicates. Usually Tazuna deals with all the civilian paper work and only sends the ones that he thinks need my signature, but right now he is enjoying his vacation while I am stuck dealing with this mess. Now I am going to give you two choices either you can learn to communicate with each other and discover that you have common goals." said Naruto pausing to allow the men and women think about the option he gave them.

"Or I can get rid of the use of these forms permanently and we can have mandatory meetings where we'll discuss improvements and changes that need to be made in our village. I really don't care what option you choose because as far as I'm concerned neither me nor Tazuna will deal with this much paper work again."

As he finished his statement he walked out of the room slamming the door behind him. It took him a few seconds to realize he was still holding onto the shadow clone bag. After dispelling the clone he began making his way back to his office.

Opening his door he looked at Karin as she stood patiently waiting for him.

"Naruto Danzo just arrived."

He didn't even try to hide his agitation. "Yeah that's just great. I finish dealing with our council members and now I have to deal with another village's."

"What was our council doing." asked Karin curiously.

Naruto's reply was quick. "Killing trees."

Karin gave a small chuckle before leaving to bring Danzo in.

* * *

The Uzukage and the Konoha council member simply stared at one another while silence filled the air. Danzo wore two sets of robes, one white and the other black. The black one was worn over the white one and covered everything except for one of his arms. Various bandages could be seen covering up most of his right arm and right side of his face. The man's age showed with his creases on his face and the on eye that wasn't covered in bandages seemed barely open.

With him were two ninjas. One of them was obviously an Aburame as his body was completely covered except for his mouth and hair. Instead of a hood he wore a black mask that had a Konoha head band along with glasses built in to hide his eyes. Over his black shirt and pants he wore an open short sleeved black jacket with red straps over the shoulders. A red sash was wrapped around the man's waist and a black cloth that was split down the middle went down to his knees and circled around his waist. Whether the black cloth was some form of apron or apart of the shirt, Naruto didn't know.

The other ninja that had accompanied Danzo was an enigma to Naruto. He had long auburn hair with the back tied in a high pony tail. Looking at the man's face reminded Naruto of the Yamenaka, but instead of light blue eyes the man had yellow. He had a brown short kimono on with black pants. Over the brown kimono was a identical jacket like the Aburame and over his forehead was a black Konoha head band.

Seeing as the old council member wasn't going to start Naruto decided to do it himself. Whether the silence was a show of respect or insult Naruto didn't know.

"So what brings you to Uzu? I know we have nice scenery here but I doubt you came all the way here just for that."

Danzo had stayed silent a few seconds longer than necessary. "Well I was hoping to discuss a few things with you. Such as our current alliance agreements and other such things."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I believe that is something your Hokage should do."

Once again Danzo allowed a few seconds of silence before continuing on.

"Yes normally that would be the case, but lately with Akatsuki causing trouble she has been far to busy to bother with such things as ... politics. Me and other council members have been hoping to further increase relationships between Konoha and Uzu."

Naruto was beginning to see why Tsunade didn't like this man. Already he could tell that Danzo liked to over step his boundaries and go behind others backs. Hiding his dislike Naruto decided to continue on with the discussion despite the small twinge in the back of his head.

"I guess as a fellow Kage I can understand this, so what exactly about our agreement would you like to ... improve."

Naruto didn't know why but the soft smile on Danzo's face bothered him. He didn't sense any ill intent or mischief from the smile, but something didn't seem right. He decided that it was nothing but ninja paranoia playing tricks on him.

* * *

The two talked back an forth for several hours. Karin and Tayuya had watched both Danzo and his men intently waiting for the first sign to strike if needed. Karin didn't like this. There had been several times that she had sensed that something wasn't right but she couldn't tell what was wrong. If that wasn't enough then the chakra she was sensing from Danzo was just disturbing. It felt like a mixture between three different beings. She recognized several signatures as those of the sharingon in Danzo's bandaged arm along with another she wasn't familiar with.

Then there was the way Naruto was acting, something that had even disturbed Tayuya. Even though Tayuya had hidden it on her face Karin could sense it in her emotions. Danzo had mentioned that he knew that Naruto had defeated Kakazu and was wondering if Naruto would be willing to allow Konoha nins to have a look at the corpse. Naruto had not only done nothing to hide the fact that they still had the body but was even considering the idea.

Several times during the meeting Karin had kept looking towards Naruto and had tried to sense if he was under a genjutsu or something. But every time she did he seemed normal. It was when Danzo asked about Deidara's arm that Tayuya decided to act.

"I have heard rumors that you used one of the Akatsuki member's arm as a bargaining chip with the Tsuchikage. Is this true, and if so were you able to learn anything interesting before handing it over?"

Before Naruto could open his mouth Tayuya slammed her hand on top of his shoulder and sent a pulse of chakra through him. At first Naruto seemed bothered by the slap on his shoulder but out of no where his face contorted into rage.

He directed his new found rage at Danzo. "Get out! Get out and get off my island now!"

A sneer appeared on Danzo's face before he quickly went back to his passive look.

"It appears we are no longer welcome here, it's really a shame that our two villages couldn't become closer."

"GET OUT NOW!" yelled Naruto.

Doing as he was told Danzo rose from his chair and made his way out of the office followed closely by his two ninja. The second they were no longer in sight Naruto called for his Anbu. Four masked ninja appeared immediately and Naruto turned to Karin.

"Were you able to sense anything strange about him?"

Karin gave a quick nod and went to explain what she sensed but was cut off by Naruto.

"Good, Write a very detailed report about what you sensed and then have Katsuo deliver the message to Konoha the second your done, make sure to include what happened here."

After saying that Naruto turned and ordered his ninja to follow him.

"What are you going to do?" asked Tayuya.

"I'm going to make sure that bastard leaves." stated Naruto.

* * *

Danzo and his men were walking at a slow pace towards the docks when his orange haired ninja leaned towards him and whispered.

"Sir we are being followed."

The old council member nodded. "I figured as much Fu. It's not like they would just trust us to leave of our own accord."

The orange haired ninja shook his head. "No sir there is someone else following us."

Not liking this new unknown, Danzo gave the command to take to the trees and increase their speed.

* * *

Naruto and his four Anbu had stuck to Danzo's group like glue and had made no attempt to hide their presence. When he saw the thought to be crippled man leap up into the trees and take off he instantly became suspicious. He filed away the thought of the man's fake frailty for later thoughts and focused more so on the reason why Danzo started running.

The man knew that Naruto couldn't attack him despite the genjutsu that had been placed on him without causing strife between Uzu and Konoha. So why was it that Danzo now felt it necessary to speed up.

His answer soon appeared in his peripheral vision when he saw a black blur with red clouds dash off towards Danzo.

"Alright I want you four to continue shadowing Danzo while I deal with our new guest."

Without a word the four each gave a sign of understanding and sped up to catch up with Danzo while Naruto veered off to the new threat.

* * *

The Akatsuki cloaked man suddenly jumped back as a giant shuriken buried itself in his path. It didn't take long for the owner of the weapon to become known as Naruto landed and reclaimed his weapon. With a quick jerk the weapon was free and brandished in front of him as if it were a shield.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto demanded.

With his Sharingon active, Sasuke leveled a glare towards Naruto.

"Out of my way, I have not come for you."

Naruto let out a scoff. "Your clothes say different. I didn't think you would stoop so low, I guess most Uchiha are just meant to be murderers and thieves.

His glare grew as he listened to Naruto. "You have no clue what your talking about. Nothings has changed. You couldn't understand me when we were just genin and you can't now. Despite the pain you've felt it's nothing compared to mine. Now get out of my way!"

"Your right, nothing has changed. Your still the same arrogant, self righteous, ass you were back then. You think your the only one who has suffered. Your only right about yourself. The rest of us have changed and for the better. While you have been running around chasing your revenge I have been achieving much higher ambitions. Tell me Sasuke, what have you achieved in the years since our fight at the Valley Of The End other than the death of your brother? And why haven't you returned to Konoha?"

Sasuke had chuckled darkly at Naruto's speech and questions. " Your achievements mean nothing to me. And as far as Konoha, I would sooner burn it to the ground than return there now that I know the truth."

Naruto looked puzzled at Sasuke's statement. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't have time for this. Move out of my way or I will kill you!" said Sasuke.

"Akatsuki don't kill jinchuriki, they capture them."

Sasuke did nothing to hide his agitation. "I don't care about their goals. All I care about is my vengeance and killing all who try to stop me."

In the blink of an eye Sasuke dashed towards Naruto with his sword drawn and lightning chakra dancing on the blade. Naruto simply blocked the attack with a small shift of his now wind infused shuriken. Both teens stayed deadlocked as they stared at one another.

* * *

**In Konoha**

Sakura was boxing up the last of her belongings as she prepared to move into a new apartment. She reached for the last item which was a picture frame. The picture was one she and her old team had taken. She studied the picture carefully. In the middle of the picture was her while Sasuke was on her left looking off to the side uninterested and Naruto was on her left looking annoyed as Kakashi ruffled his hair while the picture was taken. Looking at the picture she couldn't believe how happy she looked back then.

The dust on the picture had obscured some of the details and she began wiping it away. The glass cracked and she winced when she accidentally cut herself. She brought the bloodied digit to her face and began healing it. Once she was done with that task she looked back at the picture to see the damage that had been done.

She was mortified when she saw that the glass had cracked in a way that had perfectly separated each person in the glass from the others. Not only that but the blood from her finger had fallen and splattered over Naruto and Sasuke making it look as if they were covered in their own blood. Sakura quickly removed the picture and wiped off the little blood that had sunk through the cracks.

She wasn't superstitious, but she didn't want to think about what the picture could have meant.

* * *

At the same time Sakura was packing to move, Hinata was at Naruto's old apartment laying on the bed. She had come here several times when she wanted to be alone. In time it had become her sanctuary and she always came here when she missed Naruto. Turning her head she took a long sigh and inhaled Naruto's scent from the pillow. Whether his scent still lingered around or if it was just wishful thinking she didn't know, but the act alone made her feel better.

Though it didn't help the yearning that only grew with each act that she did in the apartment. She mentally cursed as she recalled how Kiba had interrupted her and Naruto. He had tried on several occasions to apologize, but the teenage Hyuga wouldn't forgive him. Maybe in time, but right now the incident was still fresh and her longing was not making things any better.

Luckily for Kiba the Hyuga council was providing a nice distraction or at least the half that was against her and Naruto having a relationship. It was stupid that she had been forced to stay due to a Hyuga ceremony that didn't even require her presence.

'When will they learn that their doing nothing but bringing us closer together.'

Yes the distance apart had been annoying and the lack of time together had grown frustrating. But that only made them that much more happy to see each other. It had also made them enjoy each minute with each other as if it were their last. The festival was a prime example of this as they became inseparable. Once they had been alone they were prepared to show each other how much their love meant.

She ignored the small pain she felt when she thought about how they hadn't been able to complete the process. Instead of lingering on that she moved on to their departure and the three words she had longed to hear. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to relive the moment that lived up to her happiest moment.

A sharp noise to her side woke her from her memory. Looking over she saw Naruto's team picture, the way the cracks appeared on the picture worried her.

* * *

**Back in Uzu**

Sasuke grinned victoriously as the lightning from his hand danced out of the hole in Naruto's chest. Taking in the environment around him Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at how ironic things were. Their fight had moved to a rocky area with a waterfall nearby and he had just plunged his **Chidori** into Naruto, a scene all to familiar to their fight at the Valley Of The End.

Naruto gagged a few seconds before a spray of blood shot out of his mouth and covered Sasuke's still embedded arm.

"This ... is the third time you've hit me... with that-" another vomit of blood poured out of Naruto's mouth. "attack."

Sasuke's grin slowly turned into a scowl when he sensed power gathering in Naruto.

"It's also the third time you missed my heart!"

As soon as Naruto finished his sentence he thrust his hand forward, an incomplete **Rasengan **spinning in it. Having been prepared for an attack Sasuke leapt back avoiding the attack, only to be sent spiraling from the after shock of the attack. His instinct was the only thing that saved him from breaking his skull onto the ground as he used his hands to bounce away.

Turning around he could see the red chakra flowing off of Naruto and his wound already fully healed. When the red chakra dissipated Sasuke took it as a moment of weakness and sprung to attack. Unfortunately for him Naruto had withdrawn the Fox's chakra only needing it to heal his injury. In mid charge one of Sasuke's hands went forward and a web of lightning shot from it towards Naruto. A single hand sign from Naruto was all it took to form a **water clone** from the water fall and have it intercept the attack. The steam created from the **water clone **was the perfect distraction for Naruto to rush through and reengage Sasuke before he had another chance to perform another jutsu.

Reaching behind himself Sasuke cursed as he remembered that Naruto's wind powered shuriken had destroyed his sword and was forced to use his fist. As the two clashed they couldn't help but think how hard the fight had become and how the other was preventing them from using some of their better techniques.

'If I could only get him with a genjutsu. But I can't seem to make eye contact with him.' thought Sasuke.

'Damn it I can't use some of my more powerful jutsu or he could just copy it and, my ice and boil jutsu are just too damn draining for this type of fight.'

A quick burst of lightning from Sasuke's body had forced Naruto from trading blows and had given the Uchiha enough time to form a few hand seals. Recognizing the hand seals Naruto formed his own as Sasuke launched a **Grand Fire ball jutsu** at him. Water from a nearby river shot out surroundeding Naruto and froze in place forming a hardened barrier. Sasuke, who had used the fire ball to hide his movements stopped when the smoke clear and saw Naruto performing another set of hand seals. The ice barrier that had protected him soon grew spikes aimed towards Sasuke.

Seconds later the large spikes had shot off. Sasuke pumped chakra to his legs and used the burst from his feet to fly towards the sky. While mid air he formed the necessary hand seals for his **Chidori **and allowed gravity to let him descend on Naruto. Seeing this Naruto sent another barrage of **ice spikes **towards Sasuke, but due to the sun behind him Naruto's aim was off. With no other alternative, Naruto abandoned his barrier and leapt back in time to watch Sasuke plow through it and dart towards him with his **Chidori **still active. When Naruto had been forced onto the lake created from the waterfall he smirked and simply stopped.

When Sasuke got within three feet of Naruto he thrust his attack only to watch as Naruto disappeared before his eyes. He searched around franticly till he found Naruto. Using his eyes he saw that Naruto was channeling more chakra to his feet than normal. Trying to copy the technique Sasuke found that he could move faster across the water by doing so. But Naruto proved to be far better with the technique as he once again disappeared out of Sasuke's view except this time landed a few blows. Trying time and time again Sasuke just couldn't seem to catch Naruto. Getting desperate Sasuke formed a few hand seals after jumping out of the water and attempted to electrocute the lake.

Seeing even the slightest spark alerted Naruto to Sasuke's plan and he once more disappeared. A mere second before finishing the jutsu, Sasuke had been kicked back into the lake. Attempting to finish the fight, Naruto never saw the hand seal Sasuke performed. Naruto realized his careless action when Two Sasukes emerged from the lake, one below him holding his legs in place and one behind him with his arms under Naruto's arm pits and locked together behind his neck effectively prevent him from attacking either of the two holding him.

'Bastard copied my **water clone jutsu**.'

Naruto watched as the real Sasuke got up and slowly turned to face him.

"I told you before I don't have time for this. This ends now!"

Horror struck Naruto as he watched Sasuke's eyes transform from it's three tomoe **Sharingon** into a new **Mangekyo Sharingon. **The new form seemed to be a red design of three intersecting eclipses with a black background. Naruto didn't have time to think on how the eyes looked as he ran through a long set of hand seals when he saw Sasuke's left eye begin to bleed. Sasuke unleashed his **Amaterasu **just as water sprung up beneath Naruto and surrounded him. The black flames hit Naruto and the two clones in mere seconds as Sasuke watched coldly as the flames burned.

Confident that Naruto had perished he turned around and prepared to look for Danzo. A few splashes alerted him and he spun around to see Naruto a few feet away from the still burning flames. Naruto quickly tore off the top of his kimono and leather armor to rid himself of the few black flames that had attached themselves to his clothes.

"H-How did you? That was a direct hit there's no way you could have dodged my attack!" yelled Sasuke as he stared at Naruto in disbelief.

Taking a second to ensure that there were not anymore flames on him, Naruto didn't immediately respond.

"Your right, I didn't fully dodge it."

Without warning Naruto repeated the same hand seals he did just before the Amaterasu hit. Water once again sprung up beneath Naruto except this time Sasuke got to see it latch onto Naruto and quickly freeze. Naruto was covered in a jagged like ice armor from head to toe. His torn clothes hung loosely as the ice only seemed to attach itself to his skin.

"For once you really have something to be proud of. It's the first time anyone has forced me to use my **Tundra armor."**

Naruto smirked as he saw the look on Sasuke's face and was trying to act over confident to hide the strain his jutsu put on him. It hadn't been long since he created the **Tundra armor**, but he knew it's ups and downs. The jutsu required an enormous amount of chakra due to the fact that it took both of his ice chakra and his fire chakra to sustain it and perform it safely. Without his fire chakra heating his body he risked giving most of his body frost bite due to the freezing temperatures his armor produced.

In fact if he didn't have the combined efforts of Karen and Hinata he wouldn't have never been able to make the technique battle ready.

He didn't know at first if his **Tundra armor** would protect him from **Amaterasu** but it was his only hope. Luckily the ultimate fire jutsu and, in Naruto's opinion, the ultimate ice jutsu only managed to cancel each other out. Now all he hoped for now was that Sasuke didn't figure out the **Tundra armor's** only other weakness. The fact that he couldn't use any other jutsu while it was active, the concentration needed for him was too much to allow him to.

In a burst of speed Naruto launched across the lake, quickly closing the gap between him and Sasuke. The Uchiha quickly prepared to fire another **Amaterasu** at Naruto. Seeing the focus on Sasuke's face led Naruto to predict this and changed course just as the black fire erupted next to him. Sasuke tried to follow Naruto's movements, but he was just too fast. Ducking at the last second saved Sasuke's left eye as one of Naruto's jagged fists passed over his head.

Before Sasuke could try to look at him, Naruto jumped over the bent Uchiha and put a bit of distance between them. Sasuke ceased trying to follow Naruto and calmed himself down.

'It looks like I'll have to test it out early.' thought Sasuke

Naruto was preparing to go on the offensive again when Sasuke decided to speak.

"For once you really have something to be proud of. It's the first time anyone has forced me to use my ultimate defense." said Sasuke throwing Naruto's own words back at him.

A purple aura began to slowly build up around Sasuke. At first Naruto thought Sasuke was just simply using his curse mark form, something he had learned a great deal about when Tayuya told him of it. But then the purple aura began to take form into a ribcage like apparition.

"This is my final **Mangekyo Sharingon** technique. **Susanoo**."

Naruto wasn't sure if he was supposed to be impressed or not. Though cool looking, it didn't seem like an _ultimate defense_.

He ran over to Sasuke's left blind spot and threw a kick at the new defense. Other than a few cracks the rib cage seemed unharmed and Sasuke simply gave him an mocking glare.

Naruto jumped over Sasuke so he was positioned in front of him and punched aiming for the glaring opening in the skeletal barrier. Sasuke had been waiting for this however and Naruto's right arm burst into black flames.

On instinct Naruto leapt back and yelped as he saw flames on his arm. He had to refrain himself from using his other arm to grab the burning appendage. Luckily his armor was doing it's job and had kept the flames from touching his skin. Sasuke smirked as he prepared to use one of his eyes to spread the flames.

A few cracking sounds stopped Sasuke from proceeding with his plans. The ice on Naruto's arm fell off, taking the flames with it. Frustration stirred in Sasuke as the bare arm was quickly consumed by the regenerating ice. He didn't like seeing one of his most powerful jutsu made useless, especially with the pain he was now feeling. The combination of his Susanoo and Amaterasu was beginning to become unbearable and his eye sight was quickly disappearing.

This fight had to end soon, this thought ran through both sides minds.

* * *

**Elsewhere in Uzu**

With the Uzu Anbu being distracted by his hidden agents, Danzo made his way towards the fight taking place. When Fu explained the chakra he felt, Danzo quickly realized that Naruto was one of the two fighting, with luck the two fighters would tire each other out and make it easy to abduct both of them.

He had been disappointed when his genjutsu was broken, but now he had an opportunity to do more than he had originally planned for.

His two ninja stopped when they saw two obviously high level ninja fighting and Danzo raised his eye brow when he saw that the second ninja fighting was Sasuke Uchiha.

'Yes, things just might turn out for the better.'

Taking advantage of the fact that neither of them had noticed Danzo or his men, they watched and waited for the end of the battle.

* * *

Naruto stared at the now giant skeleton like being that surrounded Sasuke. He couldn't really understand how but at some point Sasuke raged himself into gaining more power. If Sasuke was a jinchuriki then it would be some what understandable, but in this case he wasn't and so the increase in power just didn't seem... logical.

Fighting the now evolved **Susanoo **had become a pain in the ass for Naruto. His breathing had started to become ragged, his body was beginning to feel numb thanks to the fact that he was having trouble channeling fire chakra, and he could barely move his limps. Thankfully this seemed to be the same as Sasuke's situation.

Naruto's armor was the only thing that had saved him from dying on several occasions, but being crushed, thrown, and knocked away by **Susanoo** was slowly wearing him down. If the fact that Naruto couldn't approach Sasuke wasn't bad enough, then the fact that **Susanoo** apparently had long ranged attacks as well was.

Sasuke simply glared at Naruto's attempts to fight him. It had become obvious that Naruto couldn't perform ninjutsu while he was using his **Tundra armor** and genjutsu against Sasuke was next to useless. Which left Naruto with only one option, taijutsu.

Naruto's persistence was annoying Sasuke. It was his fault that he could no longer chase down Danzo. It was his fault that even if he did find Danzo he would be in no shape to kill the man. And it was his fault that his revenge would have to wait another day. With a loud roar Sasuke sent another wave of chakra towards Naruto.

Forcing his body to move, Naruto barely dodged the attack. Using Sasuke's attack as the signal to attack he began another mad dash. Susanoo swung it's arm trying to grab Naruto, only for the Uzukage to flip over the appendage. This action however left him open for Susanoo to slam it's other hand down on top of him. Had they still been on the lake this wouldn't have been so bad. Instead of the cool liquid , Naruto found the rough earth beneath him. He could already imagine the broken bones he would have if not for both his armor and the nine tails fox.

The hand on top of him receded back to it's original position laying next to it's side and Naruto slowly made his way back on his feet. Sasuke sent another blast of chakra at Naruto before he could get a good footing. This choice had instantly turned bad when not only did his attack dissipate before it reached Naruto but so did his **Susanoo. **

Not allowing this turn of events to cause too much shock to come into play, Sasuke quickly gathered his remaining chakra to form one last **Chidori**. Naruto watched as Sasuke charged at him, unable to do more due to the damage and exhaustion that racked his body. Sasuke's attack hit spot on right over Naruto's heart. But with the armor being partly made up of wind chakra his **Chidori** had only allowed his finger tips to dig into his skin.

For several seconds Sasuke, Naruto, and unknown to them, Danzo stared on surprised that Sasuke's attack had done nothing more than leave a spider web of cracks in Naruto's **Tundra armor. **Not even bothering to repair the damage on himself or his armor, Naruto hands went straight for Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke had panicked when he felt the hands grab and tighten around his neck. Fear began rushing through him when not only did he start having trouble breathing, but then he could feel Naruto's ice chakra slowly entering his body. The sensation of his muscle's stiffening and his lungs start to harden was beyond painful. Then came the worst part. He was going numb, his body wouldn't respond, and the fact that he was dying became evident in his mind.

To say he could feel the icy fingers of death snare him would only be ironic at this point.

Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes as his literally squeezed the life out of someone he had once called his friend. At the moment adrenaline and the instinct to survive blocked out all thoughts of what he was doing.

A sickening crack, caused not by Sasuke's spinal cord breaking but by the frozen muscles around his neck crumbling from the pressure Naruto put on it. Hearing this Naruto dropped the corpse onto the ground and stared down at it. The cracks on his armor began growing and the ice slowly began to melt now that Naruto was no longer channeling the chakra to sustain it.

Soon Naruto stood drenched, not even taking his eyes off Sasuke. The events of the last few minutes slowly began to digest in his mind. He wasn't allowed long to think as foot steps could be heard off to his left. The new presence caused him to become alert and he turned to see Danzo and his two body guards.

Naruto scowled. "I thought I told you to get off my island!"

Danzo stopped and simply stared past Naruto, his focus on Sasuke's corpse.

"We were on our way to the docks when we noticed your fight." lied Danzo.

"It appears you've killed one of our missing nins, I would be happy to take his body back to Konoha. Of course you would be rewarded." said Danzo

Naruto moved to a spot putting him in between Sasuke corpse and Danzo.

"I'll tell you one last time! Get off my island or I'll forcibly remove you!"

"You're in no condition to be making threats _Uzukage_." said Danzo giving the Naruto's title a sarcastic tone.

Danzo gave his ninja a signal and both nins jumped to opposite sides of Naruto, taking stances to prepare for a fight.

"I guess it's up to me to just take two missing nins back to Konoha."

Naruto looked back and forth at both the Aburame and Fu. Danzo was right, his fight with Sasuke had left him very weak. All he had left to fight with was the Fox's chakra. He didn't like using it, but he wasn't about to let his pride and dignity get him captured.

Just as Naruto was about to draw upon the chakra, the root nins attacked. Both however were forced to retreat as three large demon like being fell from the sky and surrounded Naruto.

"HEY BOSS, I PERFECTED MY COOL JUTSU!"

Naruto looked up towards the source of the voice to find three large clay like birds flying up above. He focused his eyes to see Tayuya and Satoru riding on one of the birds as Karin and other Uzu ninja rode on the others. Danzo and his nins left seeing that the odds were against them now.

The birds slowly descended and the ninjas jumped off while Satoru had the birds land and wait.

"Thanks guys." said Naruto while slowly relaxing his tired body.

Tayuya and Karin took notice of Sasuke's body.

"What... happened?" asked Karin.

Tayuya gave Karin a scolding look. "Isn't it fucking obvious what happened. The emo fought Naruto and got himself killed."

Naruto didn't respond to what they were saying. He was too tired and there were other things that needed to be taken care of.

"Karin, did you send Katsuo to deliver your report to Konoha?"

Karin nodded her head, too stunned by the sight of Sasuke's corpse to say anything. She had never seen Naruto kill like this. Most of the time's his kills were quick and painless. Sasuke's crushed wind pipe told her that Naruto had attempted to strangle him. The pale and almost blue skin were obvious signs that his body temperature was far colder than it should be which told her that his insides had been frozen. What was most disturbing was the look of horror on Sasuke's face. Evidently he was very aware of his death. The last thing she noticed about his face were the still active **Sharingon** and the several darkening veins that had been caused from blood being unable to flow thanks to the grip around his neck.

She walked towards Naruto and enveloped him in a hug. He wasn't showing it, but she knew that his mind was slowly processing what he had done. He had killed before, but never like this. Naruto slowly returned the hug, he didn't know why but it felt like he needed it.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

Hinata and the rest of her team had just passed through Uzu's gate's. Kiba's bickering was completely ignored thanks to the worry Hinata felt from the news she had heard from Tsunade that Danzo had tried to cast a genjutsu on Naruto. Luckily Katsuo arrived with a report from Karen and Tsunade had set up several ambushes waiting for Danzo's return.

The second he walked into the gates he was arrested and put into interrogations, that was when they discovered the secret about Danzo's bandaged arm. Afterwards Tsunade had sent letters to Naruto thanking him for letting her deal with Danzo, but she hadn't gotten a response. She had sent several more only to get silence in return.

This was when Tsunade had become concerned that something had still happened to Naruto and called for Hinata and the rest of team eight. The Hyuga ceremony was over so there was no reason to not send Hinata. Tsunade hoped that Naruto was just sick or something minor.

Hinata made her way into the Uzu office only to find Tayuya sitting at the desk.

"Where's Naruto?" asked Hinata.

Tayuya's head snapped up slightly sleepy. Without thinking Tayuya answered her question.

"In the morgue."

Everyone in the room went silent. Hinata was the first to act and instantly dashed out of the room and headed for the room. While Kiba went ballistic and Shino simply stayed silent as usual. It took a second for Tayuya to realize what she said and explain in further detail.

* * *

The morgue was a cold room that appeared to have everything made of metal. The sliding cabinets held numerous bodies in the walls and the smell of death was replaced by several disinfectants and sterilizers. The only bodies that could be seen were the one on a metallic table and the Kage standing before it.

Naruto stared down at the corpse on the table. He had found himself here several times now. Looking over the damage he caused to Sasuke, he couldn't stop himself from relieving the moment. Except when he relived it he could actually feel the feelings he felt during that moment. Anger, fear, sadness, and when it was all over regret. The regret seemed to stay with him, as if it was a stain on him.

He kept asking himself if there was another way. Sasuke was too low on chakra to fight back, so why did he kill him? Not only that but why did he choose on of the longest and most agonizing ways to kill Sasuke. He could have slit Sasuke's throat with the sharp edges of his armor or he could have broke his neck in a quick twist. No he chose to choke him while forcing his ice chakra into him, slowly freezing the organs and killing the cells in his body.

Naruto reached up to Sasuke's eyes and attempted to close them... again. Thanks to the frozen skin they couldn't close his eyes without breaking the skin off. Sasuke's last moment alive was forever frozen showing everything he felt before death. A constant reminder of what Naruto did to him.

The doors behind burst open and Hinata stood still looking at the back of Naruto. Immediately she closed the gap between him and wrapped her arms around him tightly and cried on his back. She had felt uneasy the entire trip towards Uzu and hearing what Tayuya had said made Hinata fear the worst.

Seeing him standing there had been huge relief and she couldn't help the rushing emotions that had been catching up to her.

Naruto turned around and returned the embrace while whispering soothing words to make her feel better. She became confused when she felt him shuddering against her and finally buckled sliding down to the ground taking her with him.

The question on why he was in here finally rose from her mind and she looked back at the table Naruto was looking at minutes ago. Seeing Sasuke Uchiha laying dead on the table was shocking. Taking in the signs of his death it had become obvious to her how he died. She felt her jacket getting wet and putting everything together finally gave her an answer.

As the Uzukage Naruto was not only his village's strongest ninja and leader he was also it's symbol. He couldn't let out the feelings he felt in front of the other nins of his village as he didn't want to appear weak to them. As a leader he always had to appear strong for his men.

For some reason Hinata seeing him like this felt right. Her presence alone seemed to bring out the bottled emotions in him and he slowly felt the bulk of his burdens leave him. He still felt guilt, but he knew that would never truly leave him. Sasuke had once been a friend to him. Albeit he was always an ass, but a friend was a friend.

Hinata held him even after she felt him relax and slowly calm down. Her hand weaved through under his Kage hat and through his hair. Once she felt the top of his head she began to slowly message his scalp. It was moments like this that reminded her that despite how strong they became or what their professions were, the fact still remained that they were still only seventeen and were not invincible or immune to such things as depression or regret.

"Thank you." said Naruto

"For what?" asked Hinata, though she felt she knew what he was thanking her for.

He slowly removed his face from the crook of her neck. "Thank you for coming, I've wanted to see you again for so long."

Hinata's thumbs glided down the sides of his face, removing the last bit of tears.

"You should also thank Tsunade, and apologize to her as well. We've been worried, you haven't replied to any of the letters she's sent."

Naruto nodded. "I'm sorry, I've just been... distracted."

Hinata gave him a chaste kiss. "It's ok I forgive you, I love you."

"I love you too." replied Naruto.

In truth he needed to hear those words from her just as much as she yearned to hear them again.

Shortly afterwards Hinata guided him out of the cold metal room. He didn't need to be here right now, and as his girlfriend she would do whatever it took to keep him from lingering in despair. He had been her pillar of strength before, it wasn't only right that she became his when he needed her.


	10. Chapter 10:The Need to Understand

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto and Katsuo Uesugi belongs to Trife. Satoru Yasuhiro is my OC.

Authors note: I'm terribly sorry about how long this chapter took to get out but I was having a horrible case of writers block. I want to thank many of my reviewers for their reviews. Xtrepe Nobody, Illidan the Half Demon, Blaze501, Kitsune gun, and Silver warrior were some of my favorite reviews to read. But I am tired of the people who keep pretty much demanding that I turn Naruto into this harsh leader that gets pissed at Konoha for everything and anything every chapter review. That is a very OOC Naruto and I don't want to do that. I know that my Naruto is somewhat OOC but he still pretty much sticks to his character. I had ORIGINALY thougth that if I simply ignored these reviews people would get it though their heads that Naruto would never be like that, but apparently not. I'm not going to state names but you people know who you are, please stop making this demands or if you want suggestions.

That aside we are getting close to the end of this fanfiction, I'm not sure how many more chapters are left but I do know that Whirlpool's rebirth is nearing it's end. I have already thought of a few other Stories to start on and have posted them on my Author's page, so if you want you can get an idea on what I'll be writing next.

Chapter 10: The Need to Understand

* * *

Tsunade felt restless as she thought about the events that had transpired over the last two months. When she had gotten Karin's letter detailing what Danzo had done, she was furious. After he returned and was quickly detained she made it her top priority to find out every little secret the old council member had and to make sure he didn't see light again. Her anger became even worse once she inspected his bizarre arm and found her grandfather's DNA integrated into it. The Interrogation team tried to get as much information out of Danzo as possible but the man had gone out of his way to insure no Yamanaka could probe his mind. This only left them with what they could get him to talk about.

She had been waiting patiently for Naruto to demand something from Danzo's action. She knew that the most he would ask for is the old man to be imprisoned but she wouldn't blame him if he asked for the man's death, she herself had been tempted to remove each and every **Sharingon** eye along with the her grandfather's cells. The pain alone would have put Danzo into shock and most likely kill him. Instead she simply had the arm amputated from his body and the **Sharingon** hidden behind his bandaged face removed along with the others in the arm.

After two weeks of sending letters and not getting a reply she had become worried. Seeing that she wouldn't get an answer Tsunade decided to send Hinata and her two team mates to Uzu seeing as they had the most experience traveling there and would be able to travel faster. Tsunade hadn't been disappointed when four days later she received a letter from Hinata stating that Naruto was just a little depressed. She couldn't imagine what would have Naruto of all people depressed, and for two weeks?

Unsure of whether letting Hinata stay in Uzu on an unofficial mission was a good idea or not she finally gave into the idea when she considered that the two needed the time together.

It had only been a week after letting Hinata stay in Uzu that Tsunade found out that Jiraiya had died fighting the Akatsuki leader. She knew that telling Naruto about Jiraiya's death might not be a good idea considering his current depression but she felt he deserved to know. That had been nearly a month and a half ago.

**Uzu**

Naruto was in his office working on the last of the paper work. In truth he hadn't been doing well for the past two months and if it wasn't for Hinata he most likely wouldn't be improving. Speaking of said girl he looked over to one of the couches and found her curled up and asleep. Naruto hadn't been sleeping well lately and she had decided to stay up with him.

He had tried time and time again to convince her to sleep without him and at one point tried to fake being asleep. In short, it didn't work.

After signing the last document for approval he moved over to the couch and gently lifted Hinata's head so that it was lying on his lap. She seemed to recognize his warmth and smiled as she began moving to be more comfortable on him. The two had grown accustomed to sleeping together and had trouble (even more for Naruto) sleeping without the presence of the other.

They hadn't repeated their night during the festival for multiple reasons. Hinata was too worried about Naruto to think about the idea and Naruto had been distracted by both Sasuke's and Jiraiya's deaths.

It was odd thinking about the old perv. Despite what Naruto said to him back in Konoha he still held a lot of respect for the man. Deep down he still cared for Jiraiya and gave him credit for everything he had in life now. If it hadn't been for Jiraiya then he wouldn't have discovered who his parents were or been able to find Uzu. And if he didn't find Uzu he would have never have become as strong as he was. Another thought came to Naruto's mind. If he didn't find Uzu, would he have noticed Hinata? Would he still be head over heels for Sakura?

One of his hands began to pet Hinata's head as he thought about the many what ifs and maybes.

The thought of Sakura only reminded him of his broken promise. Normally he trusted Hinata not to tell anyone in Konoha about Uzu secrets but Sasuke's death had been the one exception. Despite Danzo knowing what had happened Naruto felt sure the old councilman wouldn't tell anyone else. He didn't want to think about what Sakura's or Kakashi's reactions would be if they found out. Sakura had completely avoided him when she found out that he had left the village, he didn't want to know what she would think of him for killing her crush.

"Stop thinking about it."

Naruto looked down to see Hinata awake with one of her hands reaching up to his face. He put his hand on top of hers and allowed her hand to rub against his cheek.

"I've tried but-"

"No buts." interrupted Hinata "You can't change what has happened. Even if you were still a Konoha nin there is nothing you could have done about Jiraiya. And you can't keep beating yourself up for killing Sasuke."

Naruto stayed silent, too content in enjoying the sensation Hinata's hand created against his skin.

Hinata felt that her words didn't get through to him. With this thought in mind she removed her hand.

The loss in warmth had quickly registered in Naruto's mind, but before he could think further he had been pushed into lying down on the couch as Hinata sat on top of him with her hands on his shoulders.

"Naruto... you have to stop beating yourself up. This isn't like you. You usually look so confident and powerful. We're all worried, me, Karin, Tsunade, and even Tayuya."

Staring at her, Naruto couldn't help but notice the determination in Hinata's eyes.

"Sasuke was out of chakra. I could have simply captured him."

Hinata shook her head. "You didn't know that for sure. He tried to kill you multiple times, if you didn't finish him while you had the chance then he could have killed you. You were in just as bad of shape as him."

Naruto went to argue but Hinata wouldn't let him.

"Anyone in your situation would have done the same."

"Even choke him to death?" asked Naruto not truly believing there wasn't another way.

Hinata thought for a second before replying.

"Naruto" she said making sure he was listening to her.

"You were low on chakra and grabbing a weapon from one of your seals was impossible at the moment. If you grabbed him anywhere else he could have slipped out. What would he do if he lived? You've been doing nothing but thinking about if there was another way for the fight to end. But have you been thinking about what he would do if you weren't able to beat him."

Hinata's questions began to form new questions in Naruto's mind. Seeing a look of wonder on Naruto's face Hinata pressed on in hopes of finally getting through to her boyfriend.

"What if he turned his vengeance on you? Would he simply try and fight you again or... would he find other means to hurt you. You've told me before that he has already gone for Karin once. Would he stop there, or would he have gone for Tayuya and me as well."

'_I would sooner watch Konoha burn to the ground before I return there'_

Sasuke's words rang through his head as he thought about what he would do if given the chance.

Various scenes played through Naruto's head and Hinata's watched him closely. A look of confusion turned to fear and slowly after that it turned to angered determination.

"NO." he accidentally shouted out.

His sudden outburst had surprised a few nins in the building close enough to hear it.

Hinata smiled as she finally saw a more familiar Naruto. He wasn't back to one hundred percent, but at least he was over the incident. She leaned down and gave him a chaste kiss. Feeling him kiss back brought a smile to her face, even more when she felt the kiss grow into a more heated kiss and Naruto's hands hold her to him. This was the Naruto she loved, the man that held her with a strong grip as if the idea of letting go was absurd, not the man that had held her through the past month as if his hands would dirty her if he wasn't careful.

Unfortunately like usual this didn't last long.

"Sir is everything ok?" asked a Chunin who opened the office door.

'That is it I am going to put a seal on that door that automatically locks the door once it closes.' thought Naruto as he gave the stunned man a glare.

**A Few Days Later**

It had taken a little longer than Hinata wanted but she had finally gotten Naruto back to how he usually was. She could still see signs that he still thought about Sasuke's death but he was no longer beating himself over it.

Finally able to think Naruto got to doing the things he had planned to work on months ago. As he made his way to the morgue he thought of how stupid he had been for not doing this sooner. Once inside He walked over to one side of the wall and opened two cabinets and pulled out the sliding panels that held both Sasuke's body and Kakazu's body.

Confirming that both bodies were real, he walked over to another wall that had a similar cabinet except there was only one and it had a few knobs and meters on the side. Before opening the cabinet he turned one of the knobs all the way. Afterwards he opened it and laid Kakazu's body on the slab and pushed the body in. Before closing the cabinet he performed a quick low level fire jutsu igniting the gas that had been filling the open space inside.

Naruto and his medic team had been thoroughly disgusted when they found out the truth about Kakazu's forbidden jutsu and how it worked. They came to this discovery when they found two extra hearts of different sizes inside the man. The different sized hearts told Naruto all he needed to know and had ordered all work on recreating the jutsu forever canceled. He wouldn't allow his ninja to become monsters like Kakazu had done to himself.

A few more minutes later and Naruto pushed a button next to the cabinet. Opening the cabinet revealed only ashes. Pulling out an urn and small broom from one of the drawers nearby, he went on to sweep the ashes into the urn before sealing it. Later the urn would be buried in an unmarked grave. Everyone deserved to be buried, and despite the fact of what the dead man did to his village it was better than leaving his body out for someone to steal or investigate.

Picking up Sasuke he proceeded to do the same with him. Naruto had considered taking Sasuke's still Sharingon transformed eyes and keeping them to give to one of his ninja. But he quickly threw this idea away when he thought about the weaknesses a non-Uchiha had from using the Sharingon. He rather have battle ready ninja that would learn to rely on their own strength than ninja who were given an advantage at the cost being exhausted easily.

Besides they wouldn't be able to pass it on to other generations. With the body burned to ashes he put them in another urn except this time he marked it with a pen he kept on him. The urn was now marked with a mock Uchiha fan, he didn't know when but he would eventually send it to Konoha. But he would only do that when he was prepared to tell them what had happened.

**Later That Day**

With the sun setting Naruto made his way back home. Once he was done with dealing with the two bodies he spent the rest of the day catching up on some training. Hinata had joined him but ended up heading back before him. Thinking about Hinata made Naruto realize that they hadn't done much together lately. He felt bad that she had spent most of her time here helping him. As he walked up to his house he resolved that he would do something special for her later.

But at the moment a shower was a must have. His training had not been serious but more of a way to keep in shape. While it hadn't tired his body out, the work out along with the hot day had left most his body drenched in sweat and his body temperature just didn't seem like it wanted to cool down.

Walking in and hearing the shower already on had greatly dropped his spirit. He reminded himself that Hinata had not been long since she left the training ground and should have figured that she would want one. Walking into his room he began stripping down until he was only in his boxers. He could wait to take a shower but there was no way he was going to wear those heavy clothes at the same time.

When his bathroom door opened and revealed Hinata, still dressed in the same clothes she trained in and blushing, Naruto would admit to being a little confused.

"Naruto I started the shower for you." said Hinata.

Naruto blinked a few times before giving a small thank you. Hinata closed the door behind him and left Naruto alone. He had heard of times that a girl would prepare a bath or shower for their boyfriend or vice-versa, but he never thought it would happen to him. Then again the stories he did hear usually involved the girl or boy sneaking into the shower or bath with their partner. He grinned at the idea of shy Hinata jumping into the shower with him

Before deciding to get in Naruto tested the water. Oh how he loved Hinata, she had set the temperature so that it was cool yet not to the point that he would be freezing. He needed a way to cool down right now and she had given him just that. The fact that she had set the water in such a way cemented his thoughts that she wouldn't join him.

Quickly removing the last article of clothing, he moved under the cascade of water and let out a long sigh when the water drizzled down his body. He stood there for several minutes just letting the water flow down him. Ironically he froze when he felt two soft mounds of flesh press against his back and a pair of arms wrap around his stomach.

"H-Hinata?"

His answer was for the body behind him to press itself against him even more and the hands in front to begin gliding up and down his body. Although he didn't see it Hinata had nodded. Originally she had just planned to start the bath for him, but when she saw that Karin and Tayuya were not in the house she wanted to take advantage of it. She took in the details of Naruto. With his hair wet it had stuck to the sides of his face and down his back. His muscles were even more noticeable with how the light reflected off parts of his slick body. With her arms busy taking in all the details of the front of his body she hadn't noticed that how she began to rub her breast up and down his back.

Naruto had finally had enough of cooling down and turned on the hot water, he didn't want Hinata to freeze as well. The feel of her breast on his back and her almost inaudible breathing was driving him crazy. Hinata suddenly stopped altogether when one of her hands had gone down further then she meant to. Naruto watched as one of her hands hesitantly drifted slowly down to his erection. Her hand withdrew a little when she had touched it, but slowly wrapped her fingers around him and squeezed.

His shoulders shook as his hands were pressed against the tiled wall and he tried to bite back a groan. He finally failed to hold it back when her soft hand had begun to move up and down the length of his erection.

Hearing his groan had only fueled Hinata's desire to increase Naruto's pleasure. Activating her **Byakugan** she began taking notice of what did and didn't get Naruto to groan or turn him on even more.

Another minute of this was all Naruto could take. Turning around and surprising Hinata, Naruto slammed both of them against one of the walls. He didn't enter her but he made sure to slide his entire length up and against her lower lips. A shuddering moan was his reward and only encouraged him to smash his lips against hers. She quickly returned the kiss and began moaning again when she felt his hands exploring every inch of her body.

He was just as hesitant as Hinata was when it came to touching her lower body despite his earlier action. Parting their lips he began kissing her breast until he brushed against one of her nipples. Her quick intake of air made him curious and repeat the action. Her reaction wasn't exactly the same but he could see that she was sensitive there. Taking one of her nipples in his mouth he sucked on it while his hand groped her other breast.

Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's head, in her mind it was the only thing she could do to keep herself from sliding down the wall. She had a hard enough time keeping up with everything he was doing to her. Other than what he was doing to your breast there was his other hand that had preoccupied itself with rubbing her sex.

Every now and then she could feel one of his fingers slide in between her lips. After a few seconds rubbing her Naruto decided to explore the inside of her with his middle finger. Hinata head snapped back when she felt herself invaded and let out a small whimpering moan. Naruto on the other hand was too distracted by the feeling of finger was experiencing. He had never thought that she could ever be this hot and slick inside.

Naruto had finally released Hinata's hard nipple. At the moment his mind felt foggy and he was going completely on instinct. He felt his hard member throbbing against Hinata's leg and felt the urge to take her. Naruto positioned himself at her entrance before looking at her face. He felt a little dismayed at what he saw. It wasn't fear he saw but uncertainty.

His mind went back and forth on what to do. They promised if they ever got this far and that one of them was unsure that the other wouldn't force it.

Hinata's heart beats were going a mile a minute. She had planned to come this far, but when Naruto began positioning himself she wasn't sure if she was ready yet. Seeing the look of need on Naruto's face had made her feel bad. It was she who started this and now she was having second thoughts. She started getting the nerve to tell him it was ok and to go ahead, but suddenly Naruto was repositioning both of them.

Hinata now found herself resting her back against Naruto's chest as Naruto was slightly leaning against the wall with one hand laid lightly on her stomach while the other was just an inch above her sex.

"N-Naruto wha aaahhhhh."

Her question was replaced with a moan when Naruto spread her lower lips open and slid his entire length across her sex again.

"Hinata... please squeeze your legs together." said Naruto in an almost begging tone.

He wasn't going to force her to do something she didn't want to, but at the same time he needed a release badly and there was no way he could just stop right now. Hinata did as he said, and could feel her upper thighs surround his erection. Naruto took his time as he began to move his hip back and forth in between her legs, after a while he began to pick up speed.

It was strange for Hinata to watch as his sex would appear and disappear and even more when she thought about how good the simplistic act was actually making her feel. Especially when he brushed her clit each time he thrust forward.

It didn't take long for the two to be reduced to heavy breathing and moans. Naruto was trying his best to out last Hinata. He had thought of this position with the intent of both of them releasing. Luckily if the moans coming from Hinata were anything to guess on then she was enjoying this as well. Unfortunately he could feel himself nearing his limit.

Hinata let out long deafening moan and despite the warm water that was raining down on both of them Naruto could feel her release spread over his length as he continued to piston his hip. No longer having a reason to hold back Naruto slammed his hips one last time before allowing himself to release. His groan was muffled as he bit down on Hinata's shoulder.

Naruto legs felt as if all the strength in them was gone, something that had confused him when he thought about the fact that he hadn't even really used them, and he slowly slid down the wall taking Hinata with him. The two stayed cuddled together and despite the water that was falling against their faces they were rather comfortable. Once they had regained their strength they began washing each other and shortly afterwards went to bed.

They didn't even bother putting any clothes on and just simply pulled the covers over them.

The next morning had been rather awkward when the two realized that Karin and Tayuya had both come home some time during their shower and had pretty much heard everything. It wasn't really that big of a house and Naruto was beginning to regret his decision of not building a bigger one sooner. Especially when Tayuya pointed out that Hinata had a rather nice bruise forming on her shoulder. This comment had caused Naruto to choke on his current drink.

He hadn't even realized he left a mark on Hinata and had sent her an apologetic look once he himself saw the mark from his bite.

"It's ok Naruto, I no you didn't mean to hurt me." whispered Hinata.

Despite her reassuring words he couldn't help but feel bad about it.

Once Tayuya had gotten her fill of teasing the young couple she left the house to get some shopping done. Thankfully Karin had simply suggested that they have their fun somewhere that others didn't also live, she hinted about a hotel but both Hinata and Naruto didn't like that idea. Yes they would have privacy but then again making love on top of a bed that several others did the same just didn't sound like a good idea. Clean sheets or not.

Once they were done talking Naruto put on his Kage robes and headed for the Uzukage tower with Hinata.

It had been several hours since Naruto arrived at his office. Satoru had just come back from Konoha after delivering a message from Hinata to Tsunade informing her that Naruto was doing ok. Ever since Satoru had perfected how to create clay birds he could ride upon they had decided to have him deliver any important messages. With his skills in wind chakra he could fly higher than any living bird without needing to worry about oxygen. If the air got thin then all he had to do was gather what little there was to concentrate around him.

Also thanks to the fact that he could fly so high it made it to where people on the ground would simply think a small bird was flying in the air.

Other than Satoru returning nothing else happened other than assigning a few missions and looking over a little paper work. That was until a loud crash grabbed Naruto's and Hinata's attention causing both of them to look out the window. When Naruto saw a brown two headed dog that was several stories tall his first thoughts were to blame the Inuzuka but looking closer he saw that the dog had strange ripple like purple eyes and a large piercing through it's mouth.

No sooner had he noticed that Hinata pointed out a figure on a nearby building with medium orange hair and an Akatsuki cloak adorned. Naruto began getting ready to storm out of his office when several other sections of the village were rocked with explosions and noticed that several other Akatsuki wearing cloaked figures were attacking as well.

Before leaving Naruto pulled out two communicators along with radios and handed Hinata one while he attached his own.

"Hinata, I know better than to tell you just to hide while Uzu takes care of this, so please be careful." said Naruto as he adjusted the ear piece and microphone.

Hinata gave a subtle nod. She had been improving greatly, he had seen this. But Naruto couldn't help but worry about her.

"All Anbu and Jonin split up into groups and engage the Akatsuki threat. Chunin rank and below are to focus on evacuating civilians to the shelters, if you run into any Akatsuki you are to flee on sight, your main concern should be the safety of the civilians. There is one target located in sector 3, I will deal with this one on my own while the rest of you deal with the others. Karin are you there?" said Naruto

Naruto heard static for a second before Karin responded.

"Yes Naruto I'm here."

"Good what can you tell me about the enemies?"

Karin took a second to gather as much info as she could. "Not much at the moment. I can tell you that there are at least seven of them in the village... strange it feels like six of them share the same chakra."

Naruto began jumping from roof top to roof top as he made his way to his intended target, Hinata following closely behind him.

"Karin I need you to help organize the groups and inform them of the enemies' location, after you've done that please try to figure out what is with the Akatsuki member's chakra."

"Will do." replied Karin

Naruto made a few hand seals and unleashed a barrage of invisible wind blades at the giant multi-headed dog. The blades cut through the dog like a hot knife through butter and effectively cutting the dog into three halves before the dog disappeared into a puff of smoke. With the giant summon no longer a problem, Naruto looked around trying to find the summoner.

"Naruto behind you!" yelled Hinata.

Looking behind him, Naruto saw a distortion in the air and jumped just in time to avoid becoming part of the rubble the building he was standing on became. For a split second he saw a green gecko like summon before it disappeared again. Hinata join him on the building he now stood on.

"I can see him." said Hinata with her Byakugan flaring.

"Tell me where he is and I'll blast him." said Naruto as he formed a single hand seal and began gathering chakra in his mouth.

Hinata waited a few seconds before giving directions.

"Eight feet from your eleven."

Naruto quickly spun facing said area and released three boil chakra infused **Water Bullets. **One of his shots missed but the other two hit the gecko head on and began eating away at the creatures skin disabling it's invisibility. The summon opened its mouth to reveal an orange hair young girl wearing an Akatsuki cloak with various piercings on her face and body. Her eyes were the same light purple color with ripple patterns just like her summons.

The girl gave a quick look at the damage done to her giant lizard before addressing Naruto.

"Long red hair with pale complexion and the ability to use Boil jutsu, and I assume Ice jutsu as well, you must be the Nine-tails jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto studied his opponent carefully. "For someone that's supposed to be a part of Akatsuki I'd expect you to know what I look like."

The girl's voice was cold and emotionless. "What you look like is of no concern now. I'll give you a choice, If you come with me peacefully I'll spare your village."

"Hah as if, you already attacked us and we aren't so weak that we can't defend ourselves from seven people, no matter how strong." said Naruto defiantly.

The girl shook her head. "My offer is not extended to now but for once our plans are completed. Your village is new and has not been steeped in war. It has not been the cause of others pain... yet. Come with me and your village will be shown favor, I'm sure as its leader you would want what's best for it."

"Speaking of plans. What do you plan to do with the Tailed Beasts?"

The sound of battle could be heard as the three stood there silent.

"I told Jiraiya, I guess it would only be fitting to teach his last student what my plans are."

Naruto tensed. Tsunade's letter had told him that Jiraiya had died fighting the Akatsuki leader. If Jiraiya had been told Akatsuki's plan and been unable to tell the other's that could mean only one thing.

'This girl is the leader of Akatsuki?'

"Pain, everything that feels it can grow from it. Through pain we can understand each other. The only problem is that while some have suffered and grown from that there are those that have gained from another's pain. Wars are started in the hopes to gain something and while other's gain someone must lose. Peace is my true goal. But as long as the world as an entirety does not know true pain then there will never be peace. That is where you and the other jinchuriki come in place. Using the power of the Tailed Beasts I'll create a forbidden jutsu that will have the power to destroy entire villages. I will monopolize this forbidden jutsu to different villages and they will use it to enact war on each other. In the end, once the villages have destroyed each other, then and only then will the survivors know true pain."

Naruto and Hinata couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"That's horrible" whispered Hinata.

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "You're insane. Your so called peace will only come at the cost of millions of lives. How can you call something peace when it is created only through destruction."

"I did not expect you to understand, especially when you yourself have not experienced the pain I have felt." said the female Akatsuki.

'Once again someone who believes their pain out weighs everyone's.' thought Naruto.

"Well I guess we're back to step one then." said Naruto as he began forming a series of hand seals.

Tayuya growled as she had been forced back by yet another missile launched towards her. The bald headed Akatsuki had done nothing but launch powerful projectiles at her and even her summons were having trouble dealing with him. The man had to be the strangest thing she had ever seen. His head neck didn't appear to have any angles and his arms were apparently detachable and held several hidden compartments to hold his explosives.

She would have tried to put him in a genjutsu but she wasn't being given the time to play her notes other than to command her summons to keep him from attacking her, it also didn't help that he didn't have any ears from what she could see. Another thing that was pissing her off was how durable this body seemed. Once his head grew two more faces and his cloak fell off to reveal that he had four extra arms along with some kind of saw blade tail Tayuya couldn't call him human any more.

Her distraction had nearly cost her when another Akatsuki with long orange hair, several piercings, and the same eyes as the other's snuck up behind her. He had nearly grabbed the top of her head before a large clay bird swooped down and carried him off before self destructing.

Hearing the explosion from behind Tayuya saw the debris of the Akatsuki fall down and Satoru on one of his clay birds hovering nearby. She chuckled when she saw that he was wearing the same costume he wore during the festival. He had taking a liking to it.

Using this chance Tayuya sent a few signals using her hands. Satoru nodded to show he understood the silent signal from Tayuya. Once Satoru began engaging the six armed Akatsuki Tayuya began playing a new song. Her three demons opened their mouths to produce long austral like beings with little to describe them other than the mouths and sharp teethes. The astral monsters instantly sought out the Akatsuki to devour his chakra.

Karin began scribbling down the details from the reports she was getting while simultaneously giving orders to the other units. Behind her various wounded ninja and civilians alike were being gathered and treated within the underground shelter. The number of wounded were increasing to the point that Karin didn't have a choice but to call in one of there more powerful ninja to help with the injured.

"Katsuo I need you to fall back towards the shelter."

"As you wish Lady Karin."

Looking at all the data she had gathered she didn't know what to think.

'All targets are Akatsuki, wearing various large and abnormal piercings along with having orange hair except for two. One is the bald one while the other is a blue haired female. Also six of them share the same **Rinnegan** eyes, but that shouldn't be possible as none of them exhibit similar powers what so ever. In fact they seem keen on only using one type of ability or skill each.'

Karin tapped her pen repeatedly against the desk as she thought over all the information.

She had let out of cry when Katsuo had laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Lady Karin you called me her."

Karin adjusted her glasses so that the light reflected off them.

"Right I need you to tend to the wounded."

Katsuo gave a quick bow before leaving. Once he was gone Karin took a deep breathe to calm her nerves before going back to what she was working on.

Hinata leapt back as two explosive notes flew by her. With her Byakugan active she could easily tell the difference between the Blue haired woman's regular pieces of paper and the explosive ones she had hidden within the storm of paper slips. Though this did not stop Hinata from ignoring the other pieces as she had found out that each piece was as sharp as any kunai.

The paper wielding Akatsuki in the air had taken on an angle like appearance once she had learned that trying to smother the Hyuga was a mistake as Hinata had simply used a burst of chakra to free herself and followed up with rotating her hands forming a sphere of chakra around herself and destroying any pieces within the radius.

Activating her **Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, **Hinata's hands were soon covered by two lion head shrouds of chakra. Instead of dodging or performing her **Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms **to protect herself, Hinata charged straight at the barrage of papers while effortlessly swatting away any of the pieces in her path and dodging the explosive ones.

With this new development the Akatsuki women had been forced to retreat out of range of Hinata's reach.

With the brief pause in her fight Hinata realized that Naruto nor the other Akatsuki was not in her sight. She began focusing on extending her sights in hope of finding him. This was instantly put to a stop when her opponent started the fight once more.

'This girl is too confident.'

This was the thought that ran through Naruto's head as he had chased after the Akatsuki as she led him to the ocean. Not only had she separated her and him from Hinata and that other Akatsuki, but she also gave him an infinite source of water for his ninjutsu. The fight continued once they were near one of the whirlpools that outlined the border of Uzu.

The girl performed another set of hand seals summoning another type of animal bearing weird piercings. Naruto had long figured that Pain, as she called herself either favored summoning or it was simply all she could do. To Naruto this didn't make any sense when considering how taxing summons were and he highly doubted that the leader of Akatsuki would be strong enough with just summons alone.

Naruto pushed those thoughts away as he focused on the giant crab in front of him. His opponent had been annoying him with the endless amounts of summons, so a cruel thought entered his head when he saw the crab disappear into the waters depth.

Forming a few hand seals he prepared to roast the crab with a fire jutsu the second it emerged. Sure enough a few seconds later the crab had tried to grab him from behind only for Naruto to back flip behind it and blast it. A shrill shriek filled the air before it a cloud of smoke formed indicating that it had either died or returned back to its home.

Naruto's victory was short lived as five other clouds of smoke appeared and dissipated to reveal five other Akatsuki plus the original summoner. Looking at their faces Naruto couldn't believe the similarities between them.

Hinata took a few deep breathes trying to calm herself. The blue haired paper user had just retreated and she could hear others on the radio confirming that the other invaders had retreated as well.

It was when Karen began yelling Naruto's name over the radio that she realized that she had yet heard his voice over the radio.

Activating her eyes she began scoping out looking every where for a sign of Naruto.

"Karin this is Hinata, can you tell me where Naruto is?"

"Hinata he's stuck fighting six of them at the borders of the island! You're the closest to his location, it'll take the others about twenty to thirty minutes to reach his location. He's directly north of your current position, you're the only one close enough to give him back up!" said Karen

Hinata didn't need to be told twice before she began jumping from tree to tree. But something troubled her about what Karen said.

"Karen you said he was fighting six of them. Where's the seventh one, the one I was fighting."

A few seconds passed by before Karen could respond.

"Strange she's heading to another spot. Be careful I sense another chakra signature with her, I don't know what's going on but I'll focus on them and warn you if anything happens."

Hinata gave a quick thank you before increasing her speed towards Naruto.

Naruto would admit that he had been in some pretty bad positions before, but this took the cake. He had six Akatsuki to fight and no matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to get the drop on any of them. What was worse was that the six arm freak had destroyed his radio, so any information he could have asked for was inaccessible.

Though in truth he had begun to figure out a few things thanks to shadow clones. So far the things he learned was to never allow either the long haired skinny male or the short haired buff guy to grab any part of him. The skinny guy could rip his soul out just by touching his scalp and the Buff looking guy would summon some bizarre demon head that pretty much did what the skinny guy did.

Either way if one of those guys touched him this fight was over. Then there was the somewhat pudgy guy that could absorb every one of his jutsu, the idea that the man could probably absorb his chakra by simply touching him wasn't too far fetched. So that was now three guys he couldn't allow to touch him.

The six arm freak as Naruto preferred to call him seemed to serve multiple purposes. Long range ballistics, taijutsu expert, and above all human shield. No matter how hard Naruto would throw a punch the guy just seemed to absorb what ever hit he threw at him. This especially got annoying when Naruto would have the drop on one of the others and just as he was about to break their neck, the six arm freak would appear out of no where and block it receiving no damage at all.

Of course there was the summoner and her animals jumping in the fight. But the last one was causing some of the most problems. Apparently the one with the spiky orange hair, that reminded him of how he uses to have his blonde hair, could use some kind of force to push him away or pull him towards him. If that wasn't bad enough they were all fast and seemed just as strong as the other in the strength department.

If he was just fighting one of them it would probably be no problem, but with all six of them he was lucky to have various ways to use his **shadow clones **and** water clones **as human shields or escape goats. Naruto knew that he wouldn't be able to turn things around if he couldn't take out at least just one of them.

Once again he felt the tale tell signs that he was being pulled and instantly created a **water clone** to switch places with. His plan had been successful as he watched a saw blade cut through his air borne clone but he had to leap to the left as the chakra draining Akatsuki had made a grab for him. It was then that he saw that the six arm guy was behind him.

The chain saw like blade scraped across Naruto's side, leaving a deep gash and trails of blood leaking down the side of his kimono. But as far as Naruto was concerned this was a good sacrifice in order to plow through the freak with his **Rasengan**. He wasn't too surprised to see gears among other mechanical parts to fly through the air as his jutsu tore through the man.

"One done, five to go" said Naruto taking pained breathes of air.

Looking around Naruto saw that all but one of the Akatsuki was focused on him. The one that wasn't focused on him was the slightly buff looking guy that could summon the demon head. He wasn't looking at Naruto but towards the remains of the six armed Akatsuki.

Narrowing his eye, Naruto chose his next target. He didn't know why that guy wasn't focusing on him, but he wasn't going to pass that chance up to destroy him. Only problem was the guy standing a little bit in front of his target, the one that could push and pull him.

A puff of smoke and a toss later showed a giant shuriken heading for Naruto's next target. But the orange spiky haired Akatsuki held out his hand.

"**Almighty Push"**

Once again an invisible force came from the man and knocked the shuriken out of the air. Every Akatsuki focused back on Naruto. That was until he turned into a puff of smoke and the sound of water splashing occurred next to the force using man. By the time they looked at the Naruto that had just emerged from the water he had already grabbed the air borne shuriken and thrown it back at his target.

The force using Akatsuki had mad a desperate attempt to save the man by pulling him towards him, unfortunately for him the shuriken had cut clean through the man's neck. Instead of the whole man, only a head-less corpse came to him.

"Two down!" said Naruto in an obviously tired voice.

Naruto didn't have much time to think as he was pulled violently towards the spiky haired Akatsuki once again by an invisible force and stabbed in his abdomen with some kind of black chakra rod. His chakra network had gone haywire the second the black material punctured his skin. Luckily the Akatsuki hadn't been able to get a hold of him before he sank into the water. Without a second thought he ripped the rod from his body.

Looking up he saw all four remaining Akatsuki looking around and waiting for him to resurface. He wasn't about to do that and instead allowed himself to sink to the bottom of the ocean floor. His enemies apparently were not going to chase after him and he planned on using that time to think up a good plan before reengaging them.

A smile appeared on Naruto's face when he noticed the cyclones from one of the whirlpools off in the distance. Taking another glance up he saw the positions of the people above him.

'Looks like the chakra absorbing guy is sticking close to that guy that stabbed me, so that leaves only soul stealer and little miss summons.'

**In a section of the forest nearby.**

A strange looking tree held within it two people, one was the blue haired paper user known as Konan and next to her was her friend and partner Nagato or as he called himself now of days Pain.

The man had red medium length hair that nearly covered his face and the purple ring ripple eyes in his head known as the **Rinnegan. **His body looked beyond malnourished as he was skinny enough to see his skeletal structure through his skin. But this was the least frightening thing compared to the several black rods that protruded from his back and the six legged mechanical device his lower body was held in.

Pain focused on the fight seeing everything they saw and controlling the last of the six corpse's (or the six paths of pain as he called them) that were still able to fight. He had considered sending the Preta path to go down below and drain Naruto of his chakra, but quickly decided against it when he considered that Naruto could just as easily take a kunai to it's skull.

If Naruto had not killed the Naraka path then Pain would have sent the Preta path anyway. But without the revival abilities of the Naraka path it was too much of a risk in losing another path for the duration of the fight. So now he simply waited for Naruto to show himself.

Pain had known about the whirlpools that surrounded the island that was Uzu. It wasn't really hard to get around when he had his Asura path throw the Animal path over one of them and summon the rest over. Looking with his eyes he could see that the whirlpools were constructed from chakra and simply believed that they were beyond the young Kage's understanding and ability.

So of course he never expected the whirlpool that formed underneath the Animal path and Human path. Before he could even think to save either path they were dragged under the ocean and the Human path's skull crashed against the ocean floor hard enough to kill him.

As for the Animal path, the last thing he saw through her eyes was Naruto stabbing through her heart with the very same chakra rod used to pierce his abdomen.

This left Pain with the roles reversed with only the Preta path and the Deva path still alive and functioning. Even so he was still confident that he could still win the fight and bring back the nine tails jinchuriki. Naruto would show himself soon enough to attack and even if he didn't he would have to come up for air eventually. Or so he thought

Naruto took another gulp of water into his mouth careful not to swallow any. Using his affinity to wind he carefully removed the oxygen in the water before dispelling the rest back into the ocean. The two standing on the ocean top were not to be under estimated and he would need all the time to plan out his next attack carefully.

It wasn't hard to choose his next target. The one that had been using some invisible force was obviously the most dangerous of the two above him and therefore had to be taken out first. The problem was that he couldn't think of a way to get behind him without alerting the man and be sent flying once more.

Another problem was that he was running low on chakra. The fight with the summoner had dragged out for a long time and he had to use some of his more powerful ninjutsu to get rid of the creatures. And then there was the toll on his body. The deep gash on his side had mostly healed leaving a red imprint from where his skin had yet to grow back, then there was his newest injury thanks to the chakra blade. Grabbing his hand, Naruto made a quick jerk and pull to fix his dislocated middle finger. When Naruto's attacks had been blocked on several accounts thanks to the six armed guy he had hidden the fact that he was in great pain. Thankfully his finger hadn't gotten in the way with his ninjutsu.

It had felt like he was reliving his old training on honing his reflexes when the other five joined the fight. Speaking of them it was uncanny how well they all worked together. He had been given little time to think between each attack aimed towards him and it was only thanks to substitution with clones and his instincts that he had been able to last this long. But this was having set backs as well thanks to the attacks he didn't dodge and the pain his body was in from being forced to move faster than it should be capable of.

As a plan finally formed in Naruto head he steeled himself for what he was about to do.

Pain was surprised by how long Naruto was able to hold his breathe and began questioning if Naruto had decided to make a run for it. It would be a wise decision. Any further thought on the matter was interrupted when the Deva path saw Naruto jump out of the water behind the Preta path and prepare to kill him with the chakra rod.

The Preta path dodged the attempted stab and grabbed onto Naruto. Only for him to dissolve into a splash of water. Another splash was heard behind the Deva path and he quickly activated his **Almighty push. **Once again it turned out to only be a water clone. The chakra rod that had been dropped by the first clone exploded and out came another Naruto preparing to kill the Preta path again.

With a quick thought the Deva path pulled Naruto away. However the second this happened another Naruto emerged from the water in front of the Deva path and thrust the chakra rod forward. His strike had been stopped short as two arms pulled him into a bear hug.

Naruto struggled to break free of the Preta path's hold as he felt his chakra begin to leave him. But it was no use. He couldn't use chakra to increase his strength and his weapons were out of his reach. Kicking was an option but would do little more than waist energy.

"This game of cat and mouse has finally come to an end." Said the Deva path

Other than a few grunts from Naruto's attempts to escape silence filled the air.

With his chakra being stolen slowly at a time Naruto knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out. He gave a defiant stare at the Deva path. Said man just continued to look at him with a lack of emotions.

The next thing that happened was odd but not unwelcome to Naruto.

Two Hinatas jumped down between Naruto and the Deva path. One Hinata began attacking the Deva path while the other threw a kunai at Naruto.

**Five minutes earlier**

Hinata watched from her hiding place in a tree nearby from where the fight was taking place. She had been worried when she arrived and found that Naruto was not on top of the ocean. When she activated her **Byakugan **she realized he was simply waiting below. As much as she wanted to jump in and aid him in fighting she knew that it would be better if she stayed where she was. If Naruto was forming a plan then she didn't want to jump in and mess it up. If Naruto needed her help she would jump in but not a second sooner.

While she waited for a chance to jump in and help Naruto she asked Karin for all the information she had on the enemy. Luckily thanks to all the ninja that had fought against the different paths of pain Karin had a good bit of info for each one.

When she saw Naruto be restrained by the one path she could see his chakra being drained. Hinata didn't hesitate when she realized he couldn't break himself free.

With the two paths focused on Naruto it was rather easy to sneak across the ocean and create a water clone, something that Naruto had happily taught her when he found out that she had an affinity to the water element. Giving the clone a kunai and telling it what to do with it Hinata prepared herself to take on the Deva path, something she realized she had little hope of beating. At the same time if she didn't distract him there was no hope of getting Naruto freed.

When they reached a certain point Hinata and her clone made one last leap and landed in between Naruto and the Deva path. Hinata instantly engaged the Deva path throwing a variant of chakra filled thrusts and slaps aimed for different vital parts. At the same time her clone had thrown the kunai and it sailed straight for Naruto's head.

Seeing the kunai heading towards him a gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes. It wasn't until the last second before Naruto tilted his head to the side allowing the kunai to graze his cheek.

_THUNK_

The Deva path's head snapped to the side and watched as the Preta path fell lifeless into the water with a kunai to the head while Naruto was kneeling on the water. Shaking off the loss of another path, Pain sent a signal to his Deva path.

Hinata felt her body pulled forward and quickly acted when she remembered what the Deva path was doing. A quick substation with her still intact **water clone** spared her from being impaled upon a chakra rod and put her closer to Naruto.

It only took a few steps from her new position to put her next to Naruto's kneeling form. Hinata didn't need the use of her **Byakugan** to see that Naruto was almost out of chakra. Reaching into her back pouch she retrieved and handed him a soldier pill.

"Thanks Hinata, I really needed this." Said Naruto before popping the pill in his mouth and swallowing it.

His strength returned to him and he felt like he had regained a decent amount of his chakra. He knew that this would only be temporary but it was better than sitting there and being next to useless.

"I can't fight him alone Hinata. Not directly." said Naruto still slightly tired.

Hinata nodded her head. "There's only a five second period where he can't use his abilities."

"I didn't think it was that small. Did Karen tell you anything else?" asked Naruto

She shook her head. "The others weren't able to figure out more than that. So how should we approach this?"

While Naruto thought Hinata was able to see the multiple blood trails from the side of his cheek. His wound was already healed but she couldn't help but feel bad for hurting him.

"I would suggest attacking him one at a time to take advantage of the five seconds but I don't want to risk him separating us. We stick together and try to find a way around his ability. He's been fighting a long time as well and I doubt he has much chakra to work with. Do you have a better plan?" asked Naruto

"No. If we do attack him one at a time we risk him pulling one of us towards him while the other is too far away to help. While we're together it might be easier for him to push us away he won't be able to attack us again within five seconds."

Apparently the Pain's patience had run out as he had made a dash for in between the two. Before he could fill the space Naruto had grabbed Hinata's wrist and pulled her towards him. The sudden yank had surprised Hinata but when she felt herself and Naruto sent flying she understood what had happened. A quick spin had allowed Naruto to land on his feet and let go of Hinata.

Naruto began running towards the Deva path with Hinata right by his side. With a few hand signs Naruto began sending large ice spikes towards the Deva path. Instead of using his ability of repulsion like Naruto wanted he simply dodged the ice projectiles and once they were in range then did he use his **Almighty Push. **

Yes the push had sent them flying but it wasn't like they were colliding with solid ground. Instead a few splashes of water cushioned their fall and it was rather easy for the two to get up. As soon as they could get on their feet again they began their mad dash toward the Deva path again.

When they had gotten close to the Deva path this time Naruto had given some sign with his hands behind his back. As soon the Deva path raised his hand to perform his Almighty push Hinata jumped onto Naruto's back and leapt over the invisible force safely landing on the other side of the Deva path. Within the five seconds it took for Naruto to get on his feet and the Deva path to be able to use it's main abilities Hinata had shut down enough of his chakra points that he wouldn't be able to perform either is repulsion or attraction abilities.

When Naruto realized this he wasted no time in removing the gap between them and with Hinata started up an unrelenting assault. It had taken them longer than expected but they had taken down the last path. A palm strike to the heart from Hinata had been the last blow and had left the dead path falling down with blood dripping from his chin.

"Karin we've beat the last one." said Hinata as she and Naruto took a moment to catch their breathe.

"Good that just leaves the other two. I'm sending several of our Anbu to that location to deal with them." replied Karin.

Hinata nodded her head despite the fact that Karin couldn't see it.

"That would be for the b…." Hinata's reply was cut short by Naruto's finger pressed against her lips.

"What's going on?" asked Naruto

Hinata took a few minutes to think about how to explain everything that Karin had told her. In the end she took off her microphone and radio for him to use.

"Karin will be able to explain it better."

Naruto gave a quick "thanks" before putting on the device and asking his question. With Naruto now talking to her Karin decided to fill him in on everything she had discovered about the man known as Pain. She told him several things he had figured out from fighting the six paths, but the one thing he didn't know was how the six people he was fighting were nothing more than human puppets being fed and controlled by one of the enemies located in the forest nearby. Hearing this made Naruto realize that the girl he initially fought wasn't really the leader of the Akatsuki.

Now knowing that the real leader was the one hiding in the forest Naruto decided he wanted a face to face talk with the man. Naruto was pissed at the man and had half a mind to simply destroy the man for the several wounded and no doubt dead people of his village. But another part of him wanted to know what could drive a man to do all that he had done. Why that thought in mind the next words to come out of his mouth shocked not only Karin but Hinata as well.

"Call off the Anbu, I'll deal with this myself."

For several seconds neither Karin nor Hinata said a word. But once they did it had turned into both of them talking in the same speed with very similar words.

"Naruto are you crazy you just got done fighting six people who have wrecked our village and put several thousands upon thousands into the hospital that's not counting the ones that are dead!" exclaimed Karin.

While Karin said this Hinata was talking. "Naruto you're hurt and tired. That soldier pill I gave you won't last much longer, please just let your Anbu deal with the remaining Akatsuki." pleaded Hinata.

The experience Naruto had with listening to both Tayuya and Karin argue with each other had given Naruto a talent in being able to hear out and understand multiple voices at once. So when Hinata and Karin voiced their concern he understood them perfectly.

"Karin Pain has to be low on chakra, you said it yourself, he's been sending chakra out to six different bodies this entire time. And besides I have Hinata with me."

Hinata blushed from his trust in her he showed when talking to Karin while Karin let out a tired and aggravated sigh.

"I won't send the Anbu after the Akatsuki, but they will be escorting you there and they will stay with you every step of the way! You got that!" said Karin.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah I understand."

Before giving out the new orders to the Anbu who weren't listening in Karin gave another sigh.

Hinata looked at Naruto still worried. "Why are you going?"

"I need to speak with him." Naruto shook his head before continuing. "I need to know why he's done all this, what caused him to start his goal. I never got my answers from Sasuke. I found out that he hated Konoha and I never got the chance to find out why. I'm tired of seeing people do stuff like this and being ignorant to what caused it." said Naruto.

Giving Naruto a sad look Hinata could slightly understand why Naruto was so dead set on meeting the real Pain. They waited for the Anbu to arrive before heading in the direction Karin had pointed out to them.

It wasn't really hard to find Pain's hiding spot especially when they saw the only tan looking tree in the entire forest. Naruto had to admit that he was surprised that Pain was still on the island, with all his paths of pain destroyed one would think he would have left to come back another day.

Giving his Anbu a signal to stay back Naruto walked up to the fake tree and spoke.

"Pain… I know you're in there. Let me in, I want to talk." Said Naruto loud enough to ensure his voice wasn't too muffled by the wall that separated them.

Several seconds passed by before a hole opened up at the base of the tree just big enough to allow Naruto in. The Uzu Anbu had been ready to jump in but once again Naruto gave them another signal to stay back. While his Anbu obeyed Hinata made sure to stay close enough behind Naruto to ensure he didn't enter alone.

Once the two had entered the hole behind them closed and had left the four occupants of the room cut off from the rest of the world. While Pain and Naruto stared glared at each other, Konan and Hinata stayed close by their friend or lover and were prepared to jump in a moments notice to defend them. It was Pain that decided to speak first.

"Strange that a Kage would want to talk to someone responsible for the death of several of his ninja and villagers."

Naruto didn't even try to hide his anger. "That's exactly why I'm here! WHY? Why have you done all this?"

"I told you before my goal is peace, something-"

"That's your goal I want to know WHY you have made it your goal!" Naruto interrupted.

Pain didn't speak for a few seconds clearly confused by what Naruto was asking.

"I have told you before in order for people to understand each other they must-"

Once again Naruto interrupted Pain. "What happened to you, what happened that made you choose your current goals?"

Pain chuckled a bit. He couldn't understand why Naruto was asking him this question. But far be it that he didn't allow the Uzukage a chance to understand him.

"I guess telling you my story would help you to understand the motives for my goal."

For the next ten minutes Pain told them the story of his orphan life as Nagato along with Konan and Yahiko, the meeting with the Sanin, the forming of the group that originally wore the black cloaks with red clouds, and finally Hanzo's betrayal and Konoha's root division involvement in it.

The entire time Pain or the now known Nagato talked Naruto stood still and quiet, not once interrupting. The last thing Pain explained was his evolution through the pain he felt after Hanzo's betrayal.

"You have now heard my story, you now know why I have chosen this path. Will you not come with us so that we may achieve our goals and bring peace to this world?" asked Pain/Nagato

The silence that filled the room was definitely uncomfortable nearing unbearable. Hinata had gotten in a defensive stance when she heard Pain's question, she knew that there was a risk that Pain would try to capture Naruto now despite the Anbu that had surrounded them outside of the tree.

"You've definitely been through a lot. But that doesn't excuse you for what you've done and it definitely doesn't excuse you from what you plan to do. As far as your goal is concerned it's going to fail." said Naruto.

Pain had prepared to launch a chakra rod at Naruto but Naruto continued to talk.

"Pain does help people to understand each other but what you've failed to realize is that people don't always handle pain the same way. Even if everyone wept for the loss of life from your plan it's not going to be guaranteed that everyone will accept peace just because everyone has lost loved ones."

A thoughtful look appeared on Pain's face as he listened to Naruto.

"Even now despite the fact that you have both lost the same loved one chances are you and Konan dealt with your pain differently. What's even worse is that you've turned yourself into something worse than Hanzo. You may be the leader of your village and organization, but when it comes to me and Hanzo at least our people know what to expect from us. Ame knew and expected Hanzo to be a cruel and ruthless tyrant and my people will always expect me to be their defender and hero as I will always prove them right. What about you? Do your people know what to expect from you."

With that said Naruto turned around and began walking towards the wall that had opened up, Hinata following close by him but not lowering her guard.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know the secret behind peace, but if there's one thing that I do know for sure is that it will never be gained without the world working as one. Pain, you and Konan have less than an hour to leave this island. Right now I don't have time to deal with someone like you. I have people to bury and wounded to check on, and at the moment they are more important to me than killing you. But make no mistake, because if you ever attack Uzu again I will kill you without hesitation."

Naruto didn't even wait or ask Konan to let them out and instead tore open his own entrance. Without looking back Naruto gave his Anbu the order to head back to the village and help any and all those that needed it. Some had hesitated and had thought to question his order but one look from Naruto told them it wasn't a good idea.

Hinata and Naruto made their way back to the village at a slow pace. The comfortable silence felt necessary to Hinata and she had decided to simply let Naruto think in peace. It was once they were a decent ways away from both where Pain and Konan had hidden themselves and the Uzu Anbu that Naruto collapsed onto the ground unconscious.

This had startled Hinata and even scared her once she turned him over and felt warm blood on her hand. Looking down at the hole in his stomach cause her to look back at the path they had taken and noticed the spots of blood here and there that had followed them.

**One Week Later**

Hinata sat in a chair next to a bed that contained a sleeping Naruto. Said man had several bandages wrapped around his abdomen along with one patch on his cheek.

Luckily the radio that Naruto wore had on picked up the sounds of Hinata screaming Naruto's name. This had warned Karin that something had happened and she sent a medical team along with several Anbu to Naruto's location. Once the team got there they had inspected the wound and found that several pieces of the chakra rod that had stabbed him had broken off. The small pieces that had broken off had still been in the wound and had prevented any of the nine-tails fox's chakra from healing it.

Once they had removed the shrapnel his wound began healing itself, but this still left them rushing Naruto off to the hospital in order to get a blood transfusion for him or risk him dying from blood loss.

It was obvious to anyone that saw Hinata that she hadn't left Naruto side since he had been admitted into the room. Her eyes had a dark underlining showing that she hadn't slept well and her clothes most defining feature were the several wrinkles and creases from where she had slept awkwardly on Naruto.

Despite everyone assurances that Naruto would be ok Hinata stayed content with just holding Naruto's hand and not leaving his side.

Karin had positioned herself along with Tayuya at another side of the room though they had obviously left the hospital to clean up and rest.

A groan left Naruto's lips as he began returning to the land of the living. The second he woke up he was barraged by two yelling red headed girls calling him stupid for pushing himself so far. He looked to the side hoping to get some help from Hinata but the stern look on her face told him that while silent, she fully agreed with them.

Once they had finally vented their worry and frustration Naruto apologized. With that out of the way Naruto asked the question he needed to know.

"What is the number of casualties?"

Karin answered immediately knowing he would want to know.

"About two hundred and fifty."

Naruto nodded. 'That sounds about right.'

"And the death tolls"

"Zero." said Karin.

A look of pure shock covered Naruto's face and it took Naruto a solid minute before he could open his mouth.

"What did you say?"

"Zero." repeated Karin.

"How … is that … even possible? Naruto asked.

Karin began telling him of the original death toll and how all of a sudden strange lights began coming down from the sky and reviving the dead and how the miracle of what had happened shocked everyone that witnessed it just as much as it shocked him hearing it. Karin then pointed to a bouquet of flowers next to his bed. At first sight Naruto simply thought they were a bouquet of white roses but upon closer inspection he could tell they were origami.

"The woman that was with Pain came and asked you to have them as a sign of peace and an alliance between Ami and Uzu." said Karin.

Naruto noticed another bouquet of real flowers from Hinata that were bigger than the origami flowers from Konan. Seeing this Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the obvious jealousy that someone else had given him flowers. Hinata blushed knowing why Naruto chuckled, he had gotten very good at reading her and she knew it.

Looking over at Hinata he made sure to let her know he appreciated hers more. It would be a few more days before Naruto would be allowed to leave the hospital and unfortunately for the other's only one thought was left in Naruto's mind.

"Do we have anymore ramen left?"


	11. Chapter 11:No Regrets

Whirlpools Rebirth

Author's note: Thanks for the reviews, I really mean it. Chapter 10 had given me so many problems it's not funny. In fact I've made it a goal that if I can avoid the Pain fight I will. If I can't then I'll just have to suffer through another one. I'm surprised at the lack of reviews for Chapter 10. I only got thirteen for that chapter when there's normally about 20 or more. Oh well enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter 11: No Regrets

* * *

**A month after Pain's invasion**

As Naruto sat at his desk only one thought went through his mind.

'The past week could have been better, A LOT BETTER.'

After the fight with Pain and waking up from recovering it was only a few days till Hinata had to return. As much as Naruto wanted to he couldn't keep Hinata in Uzu….. at least not yet. Then the Raikage had called for a Kage meeting to discuss taking actions against Akatsuki. So of course Naruto had to go or risk his say in the matter being void. The meeting for the most part went as Naruto expected. But there was one moment that had completely blindsided everyone in the room.

* * *

**Last week / Land of Iron**

Naruto, Tayuya, and Karin sat on the clay birds that Satoru was controlling. As they made their way closer to the familiar mountain structure that was the three wolf heads mountains of the land of iron Naruto could see Gaara along with his siblings Temari and Kankuro.

"Hey Satoru land us near the Kazekage, be careful though, he dislikes these birds just as bad as I dislike crows and ravens."

Satoru gave a mirthful laugh and nodded.

As they landed Gaara seemed perfectly fine to the others including his siblings, but Naruto noticed the slight jerk in his hand to show his discomfort. Naruto wondered how long it took him just to get it down to that.

"You do realize that the Tsuchikage will want your head if he sees that." said Gaara stoically while pointing to the faux bird.

Shrugging his shoulders Naruto responded with a carefree voice. "I gave him Deidara's arm so he would allow my village to be recognized. I never told him I had already learned enough to duplicate the technique."

A sly grin appeared on Gaara's face and he let out a single laugh before heading inside for the meeting, Naruto and the others following. Satoru was the only one that didn't follow as only the Kage guards were allowed in, instead he decided to hop back on his bird and fly around the building.

Once inside the meeting chambers Naruto and Gaara took their seats at the U-shaped table. Luckily the banners hanging from the ceiling for their villages had been hung next to each other. Next to Naruto was Mei and she gave him a kind smile.

"It's been a while since your last visit Naruto." stated Mei.

"Sorry Mei, I've just been busy with my village and maintaining a relationship." Naruto replied with a hint of nervousness.

Mei chuckled hearing this. "This wouldn't happen to be the same girl that left with you during the Chunin exams a while back."

"Actually yes it is." interjected Tsunade as she took her seat next to Gaara at the end of the table.

All attention turned to the now seated Hokage. "It's been rather tiring insuring that the two can see each other."

Naruto couldn't help the guilt he felt when he remembered he had yet to tell Tsunade about Sasuke. Shaking it off, he turned back to her with a skeptical face.

"Tiring? Last time I checked I'm the one who's been coming up with the missions and reasons for her to come!"

Tsunade scoffed before throwing something back in his face she knew would tie his tongue.

"Well if you would just go ahead and marry her neither of us would have to do anything."

The blush that appeared on Naruto's face nearly matched his crimson hair.

While the Hokage and Uzukage began arguing back and forth Mei and Gaara sat silently enjoying the banter. That was until the Tsuchikage arrived into the room.

"CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE HELL THAT IS FLYING ABOVE THIS BUILDING?" yelled the Tsuchikage pointing directly at Naruto and looking as if he'd pop a blood vessel any second.

"What?" asked Naruto innocently as if he didn't know what the Tsuchikage was talking about.

The short Kage didn't even bother lowering his voice. "YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I MEAN."

It was a few wheezes later before the Tsuchikage could continue with his rage filled rant.

"You promised you wouldn't duplicate -"

"Let me stop you right there, I gave you the arm so that you would support my villages recognition, I never said that I had not already done enough research on it." said Naruto ensuring that the old man didn't twist his words.

The Tsuchikage looked like he was ready to continue arguing but the arrival of Mifune put an end to it.

"Quite everyone! Tsuchikage he did in fact say that although he worded it differently."

The old Kage scowled before taking his seat at the other end of the table while Naruto had a grin on his face.

Mifune turned to Naruto afterwards. "And you Uzukage."

Hearing his title caused Naruto to straighten up and replace the look on his face for one of seriousness.

"When you were here last time you used a ninjutsu in the form of the **shadow clone. **Back then you weren't a Kage so I won't hold you it against you. But now that you are let me inform you that the use of any and all jutsu is prohibited." said Mifune with a stern voice.

A simple nod was Naruto's response.

With the friendly atmosphere destroyed with the arrival of the Tsuchikage and Mifune's order the room filled with an uneasy silence as they waited for the last Kage to arrive.

With the time slowly ticking by the Tsuchikage decided to speak his mind

"What is it with the starter of the meeting always arriving late."

Oddly enough it was the old man's granddaughter who decided to be a smart ass to him and not Naruto.

"Didn't you know gramps? It's a rule that whoever starts the meeting always arrives late."

Tayuya snickered after hearing this. She knew full well that Naruto himself was guilty of doing so.

The doors swung open one last time to reveal the Raikage and his two body guards walking in and took the final seat in between Mei and the Tsuchikage. With the arrival of the Raikage Mifune called for the meeting to begin. The meeting would go on for nearly twenty minutes as Mifune began the formalities of the meeting and asked the Kages to remove their hats. Then the first argument began.

"I see. So you're telling me that the only reason we're having this discussion is because you lost your baby brother!" stated Naruto, angry that this hadn't been done before it became personal to the Raikage.

The Raikage looked towards Naruto and leveled a glare at Naruto.

"I'm not the only one here that has lost their jinchuriki." stated the Raikage.

Though Gaara didn't say anything those around him could feel the waves of killing intent flowing off of him. He shared in Naruto's anger and once again was reminded that not all jinchuriki had the luck of being cared for like himself, Naruto, and apparently this B.

"So tell me why you didn't call for this meeting when the two-tailed jinchuriki had been kidnapped?" asked Gaara somehow even able to portray his feeling through his stoic voice.

Once again the Raikage leveled at glare at the new speaker.

"Back then I didn't feel that the Akatsuki was really much of a threat."

'Hah! A jinchuriki is stolen and this guys going to say the group wasn't a threat.'

The other Kages had similar thoughts as well.

"Can we continue on with the purpose of this meeting?" asked Mifune.

The Raikage nodded before continuing. "As I was saying before being interrupted, it's obvious that Akatsuki has become more powerful and I've come to ask what the other villages plan to do about the group. In truth I don't trust any of you."

After that little statement the Raikage began pointing out each reason he didn't trust the others. For the sand village it was the simple fact that their previous Kages had made dealings with the Akatsuki as did the Tsuchikage, something that troubled Gaara as he knew nothing of us. The Raikage then pointed out that two of the missing nins that originated from Konoha had joined Akatsuki, both of which were Uchiha. The Raikage's reason for distrusting Mei was that it was said that Akatsuki formed there, something that Naruto felt was nothing more than a rumor, but one look at Mei worried Naruto when she seemed troubled from hearing it. And then finally the Raikage looked towards Naruto, who was wearing a grin that screamed "Fuck Off "and just couldn't wait to hear what he had done.

"Despite the fact that neither you nor your village have had anything to do with the Akatsuki I trust you least of all. You've tricked and cheated in order to achieve your goals. And you've bribed, stolen, and killed in order for your village to become successful."

Several people had opened their mouths to defend Naruto but.

"Wow…. Seems to me he was acting the part of a ninja." said the Tsuchikage, surprising all that heard him.

No one would have guessed that the old Kage would step up to defend Naruto considering all the Uzukage had done against him.

Apparently the Tsuchikage wasn't through and began talking once more.

"I won't deny that I have hired the Akatsuki as mercenaries in the past. But for you to begin pointing out our flaws while making yourself seem like a flawless gem is absurd to me. You act like none of us know how far you've gone to get blood line limts"

Tsunade picked this moment to speak. "If I remember correctly it was your ninja that tried to capture the Hyuga main branches daughter during a peace treaty between our two villages."

"I remember now." said Naruto quietly. "Yeah that's right! Then you had the audacity to demand for the head of the one that killed _**your **_ninja!"

"It's strange how you'll point out how you trust none of us when none of us have a reason to trust you." said Gaara.

A loud "Hah" could be heard from Kankuro on the upper level of the room where all the other Kage guards were standing.

The Raikage seemed surprise with how everything seemed to turn around on him and it was only thanks to Mifune that it didn't continue going bad for him.

"We've gotten off topic again. Your parts of ninja villages these acts are considered a normalcy for you all. I would prefer that we talk about the threat that is Akatsuki. This is the first time that all of the Great Nations have come together to deal with a problem."

"What the-"

Before any further discussion could continue white clay like beings began growing on everyone within the room. It was soon that the white beings began growing faces and Karin shouted out to Naruto.

"These are what I was sensing in River country when we were rescuing Gaara."

Said Kazekage instantly realized the significance of what this meant and voiced one word. "Akatsuki."

It was at this point that a distortion in space appeared on the upper level away from the guard's struggling with the white Zetsu. The man wore the usual black cloak with red clouds while wearing an orange swirl mask with only one hole for his right eye that hid all of his head except for the black short hair on top of his head. The people who looked close enough at the eye hole could see a fully matured **Sharingon.**

"It's good to see that everyone has gotten together. It makes it so much easier to spread my message." He said in a rough voice filled with wisdom.

With the arrival of the new Akatsuki it didn't take long for each Kage to free themselves using various methods. Naruto ignored how the other's got free as he force his ice chakra into the white Zetsu around him turning it brittle and much easier to break free from. Once free he turned to Karin and Tayuya and repeated the process.

A crash could be heard and everyone focused their attention back towards the masked man to see the Raikage coming out of a hole in the wall he created. Apparently the large man had tried to attack the Akatsuki and missed.

"I didn't come here to fight Raikage, I simply came to talk."

* * *

**Thirty minutes later**

It had taken the masked Akatsuki, or as he called himself Madara Uchiha, roughly thirty minutes to enlighten the six Kages on the truth about the tailed beasts and his goal concerning the use of them. Each Kage stayed silent and asked questions to feed their curiosity, it was rare when an enemy was willing to tell their plans so why waste the chance.

When he was finished he asked the Kages for their cooperation and had revealed that he didn't have possession of the eight-tails jinchuriki. Of course two of the Kages instantly rejected the thought of working with Madara and soon after that so did the others.

"I'll tell you what I told Pain. Your insane." said Naruto.

Madara fixed his lone eye on Naruto with a heated glare.

"I'm kind of glad that you feel that way. I owe you so much for the damages you've caused my organization, especially for killing Sasuke! I had big plans for him."

Naruto ignored the shocked looks he was getting from Gaara and Tsunade, why the Raikage was pissed at him was beyond his understanding but one thing he did know was that he wasn't going to take his eye off Madara as long as the old psychopath was still nearby.

"If the six great nations will not help me in my goals then I have no choice. I hereby declare the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War." said Madara before vanishing in a vortex of nothingness.

The Kages and Mifune waited for a few seconds before dropping their guards. With the new information they gained and the declaration of war they had much more to discuss.

"Seeing as Madara plans on starting a war I think it would be wise to create an alliance force." Said Mifune

The others nodded in agreement and Mei asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Who will be the leader of this alliance?"

Of course the Raikage and Tsuchikage quickly jumped at the chance. While the two argued, the others thought on other possible choices. Naruto wasn't throwing his hat in due to lack of experience, if someone was going to lead an army of six nations they would need actual war experience and be able to make difficult decisions. This in truth only left three possible choices, the two already arguing for the position and the silent Hokage.

Naruto stayed silent for several minutes in deep thought as did Gaara. The red headed Kazekage had similar thoughts going through his head. Mifune was just preparing to demand silence when Naruto's voice rang through the room.

"I vote for Tsunade Senju as the Alliance leader."

Everyone turned to Naruto. The Tsuchikage shock himself from his stupor.

"Considering that you're an ex-Konoha nin I can't help but think your choice is bias."

Mifune nodded his head. "He's right. Can you offer some reasoning behind your decision?"

"She seems like the best choice. We need someone with war experience. Someone who can be trusted and someone that knows what it means to work as a team."

"If that's the case it's not the Hokage. My country still has its jinchuriki and none of us have had any association with Akatsuki." said the Raikage.

"It's because you still have your jinchuriki that you aren't the best choice." Naruto replied.

The Tsuchikage brow rose as he sensed a insult coming. "And why is that?"

Naruto only smirked because he knew the old man just wanted to see the Raikage cut down a little.

"The Raikage is too close to his jinchuriki. You made it well known that you let your emotions get the better of you. We need someone that will think about the army as a whole and not about one person's safety. I can already tell that you would hide your jinchuriki away, I'm not saying that we should use jinchuriki for war but I am saying that we don't need a leader that would hide them away because one of them is his brother."

While it wasn't what the Tsuchikage wanted he took what he could get. Unfortunately he was opposed to the idea of Konoha being in charge.

Mifune spoke up. "It seems like you have valid points. But before we go further who all here still have their jinchuriki?"

Gaara, Naruto, and the Raikage raised their hands.

"And if you don't mind who are they."

The Raikage and Gaara answered and Naruto just shook his head. He knew that this might lessen his chance of having Tsunade as the leader but he had no choice.

"I am the jinchuriki of the nine-tails."

Gaara and Tsunade already knew of course and Mei put two and two together when they fought Yagura, but the Tsuchikage and Raikage didn't and it took them a second to realize that Naruto was originally Konoha's jinchuriki.

Mifune was tired of the outburst so instead of allowing it to happen he began taking votes for Tsunade as the leader. The Raikage left the table not even bothering to put his vote in already knowing what the outcome would be. He had better things to do at the moment, like finding his brother B.

In the end Tsunade was given the responsibility of leading the nations in the war to come and surprisingly Mifune included his samurai in the army. As everyone was beginning to leave Tsunade made her way over to Naruto.

"Naruto. We need to talk."

* * *

The Hokage and Uzukage were in a hallway away from the others.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Tsunade.

It was rather easy to tell what she was asking. In truth he was surprised she didn't ask him sooner.

"I was ashamed of myself. I killed someone that I had considered my best friend. Still a little ashamed in a way."

She was surprised how low and tired his voice sounded. "Depression?" asked Tsunade.

Naruto nodded his head. "Thank you for sending Hinata. She really helped me."

They walked on for a bit in silence. Samurai guards being the only ones privy to them.

Tsunade finally decided to ask her other question. "Why did you select me for the alliance? I would hope you weren't being a hypocrite in there."

Naruto shook his head. "I wasn't."

Pulling out a scroll and unrolling it, Naruto retrieved the urn holding Sasuke's ashes. He gave it a last look before handing it to Tsunade.

"I had planned on handing it to you later, but I guess now is as good a time as any."

The pen drawn Uchiha fan was all Tsunade needed to see to understand what had been handed to her. She wondered why he had decided to cremate Sasuke, but then again she might as well as thank him for doing it for her.

* * *

**Present time**

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he thought about the long headache that had been the last week.

The Kage meeting was only the beginning of things to come. As soon as he got back from the meeting he walked into his office to find a small green frog wearing some kind of black cloak. Apparently the sage toad wanted to train him in learning some technique called sage mode. It surprised the old frog when Naruto turned down the training and reminded the frog that his summoning contract had been null and void when he ceased being a Konoha ninja.

The frog had been persistent but left in the end. Afterwards Naruto was able to focus on readying the Uzu nin army for his share of ninja for the war. It had been mind wrecking as he had to decide who would stay and defend the village and who would go with him to fight Madara and his army.

Getting up from his desk he decided he should visit the hospital and see how his guest was doing and if it was possible to ask some questions about what happened.

Walking through the village streets Naruto could easily see the worry on several people's faces. He knew that things would be tense for some time and wondered how Tazuna would handle things while he was gone. He worried that some of the ninja that were left to guard the village would attempt a hostile take over while he was gone and put that thought behind him. If someone did attempt to take over then the army that returned could easily solve the problem.

Naruto didn't bother asking the nurse what room his guest was in and simply walked up the first set of stairs before walking down another hallway and taking the fourth door on the right. Opening the door revealed a low lit room painted white. A soft bed in the middle of the room held a woman wearing a lime green hospital gown with dark blue hair that was nearly purple. Her age from what they could tell was in the middle of her thirties and the piercing had been removed from just under her bottom lip and the blue eye shadow had been wiped away.

The sound of the medical equipment stationed next to her bed continued to beep. Naruto took a few more steps closer to the bed and its occupant turned to show she was awake.

"Hello Naruto."

"Hello Konan, would it be ok if I asked what happened back then?"

She nodded and began telling him of how everything occurred.

* * *

**Three days ago**

The room she stood in held a pool of origami flowers. Amongst the flowers were the bodies of her deceased friends. Yahiko, who had been used as the body for the Deva path and the other person, had been a more recent death. Konan continued to stare at Nagato wondering why he had sacrificed himself in order to revive the people of Uzu.

His once red hair had been turned into a solid white and a smile left on his face. She remembered his question to her and the answer she had given.

'_Konan, how did you feel when Yahiko died?'_

She shook off the guilt she felt from thinking that her answer had been what had convinced him to sacrifice himself. Despite the fact that it had played apart she didn't regret it, for a few minutes she had seen a side of Nagato she had thought been lost long ago. Right before his death he had been Nagato instead of the tyrant Pain.

Turning away from the grave she made for her loved ones, Konan left the room knowing she had to prepare for Madara.

* * *

**The next day**

The rain pelted her face and the sounds of explosions could be heard booming in the distance. She had succeeded. Madara had been caught in her most powerful technique the **Paper person of God. **The number of explosive tags she had used would last for a total of ten minutes making Madara's intangibility useless due to its five minute limit.

Konan let out a scream when a searing pain introduced itself through her stomach. Turning her head caused her eyes to widen when she saw Madara Uchiha with the upper half of his mask destroyed using his remaining arm to hold onto the pipe that now impaled her.

"H-how ... are you… alive? I went over this plan countless times." said Konan.

Both of Madara's eyes were visible with a **Sharingon **glowing in each eye. The left eye's **Sharingon **began to fade and his eye lid soon closed over it.

"**Izanagi. **said Madara in a matter of fact tone.

He then went on to explain how Izanagi connected reality with illusion and how it turned an illusion into a reality and vice versa. Madara went further to explain how it was necessary to have both Uchiha and Senju genes in order for the technique to work and even then it required the sacrifice of one eye.

"The power to turn imagination into reality that is **Izanagi**." Said Madara as he yanked the pipe out of Konan and sent her stumbling forward.

As Konan began rising to her feet the rain that had continuously fell around Ami for centuries suddenly stopped. This shocked both of them and caused them to tilt their heads up as if to double check what had happened. This had only caused their eyes to widen even more when thousand upon thousand of large ice needles replaced the rain. Madara instantly made himself intangible and allowed the deadly hail to pass through him. Konan on the other hand did nothing finding that the ice spikes fell around her leaving a small space of safety.

Konan looked back at Madara only to focus on someone walking up behind the man. Madar saw how she looked past him and turned his head to see the same person. It wasn't hard to recognize Naruto despite the ice covered skin that allowed him to walk through the hail of needles unharmed.

Naruto didn't say a word as he got close to Madara and didn't even bother walking around the man. Konan watched perplexed as Naruto just pass through Madara and continued walking towards her.

"It's a good thing a got here when I did Konan." said Naruto as he walked closer to the edge Konan stood at.

Konan could only nod as she had yet to recover from the shock of what happened. Madara on the other hand decided to make himself noticed.

"I'm surprised to see you here Uzumaki, I would have thought you would be back in Uzu organizing and preparing an army against me."

Naruto took a quick look at Madara before making his way into the small protective circle that Konan stood in and placing himself in front of her.

"You should learn to not underestimate us orphans Madara, it could come back to bite you in the ass." said Naruto completely ignoring Madara's statement.

The anger in Madara's lone eye was enough to mimic the burning effects of **Amaterasu. **

"I doubt that you can keep this technique and your armor up for long and when it does wear off I'll simply capture both you and Konan." stated Madara.

As if answering his call the rain soon turned back into water and soon after Naruto's **Tundra armor **melted as well. What Madara didn't see was Naruto sending a signal to a far off clone that was maintaining the ice needles. Naruto's smirk never left his face as he simply pulled out a kunai and drew a little blood from his face.

"I don't see what summoning a toad will do to help you." said Madara.

The next thing that happened shocked Madara and caused Konan to scream. Naruto suddenly spun around and pushed Konan off the side of the cliff and jumped down after her. Performing the five hand seals necessary, Naruto place his hands below him. A large cloud of smoke formed engulfing Naruto and Konan. Instead of the webbed feet and slimy skin Madara was expecting brown feathered wings emerged soon followed by the rest of the bird.

"Wait that's a hawk! But only Sasuke had that….. I see, I guess I have been underestimating you _orphans_." said Madara angrily as he could do nothing more than watch them fly off.

* * *

**Present time**

"**Izanagi. **Sounds impossible but so does a lot of things we ninja do." said Naruto as he thought about all Konan had told him.

Konan nodded as she laid back and rubbed the bandages over her stomach. The two sat in silence for a few seconds.

"During our fight Madara said that he gave Nagato his **Rinnegan **and that he convinced Yahiko to start Akatsuki." said Konan.

Naruto laughed at this. "I highly doubt that Madara gave Nagato the **Rinnegan**. He wouldn't have simply just unleashed the nine-tails fox on Konoha if he had something as powerful the **Rinnegan** let alone give it to some random orphan. As for him convincing Yahiko to start Akatsuki I can't say, maybe he was just trying to mess with you to make the fight easier for him."

"A lot of good it did him considering how badly you messed him up." added Naruto.

Konan chuckled somewhat from amusement and a little from relieve that her friends hadn't been manipulated from the start.

"It's a good thing I got there when I did otherwise Madara would have the **Rinnegan** right now." said Naruto.

Konan's silence and crestfallen mood seemed to suffocate everything within its reach.

"Konan. He can't find Nagato's body, can he?"

A few more seconds passed by. "It will be harder for him to find the hideout, but yes he could still find it, especially with me not there to prevent him from finding it."

Naruto shook his head hearing this.

"If you don't mind, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." said Konan.

Naruto nodded his head to give her the go ahead. "Why did you come to Ame?"

"I got concerned." said Naruto.

Before Konan could ask why, Naruto pulled out a bouquet of unraveling origami flowers.

"I had my ninja examine this. Apparently your chakra is connected to your origami despite the long distance between our villages. So when one of the flowers began to unravel I took it as an omen that my ally was in danger. Good thing I went with my instinct."

Konan thought for a few seconds before an answer came to her. "It must have been when I was preparing the explosive tags for my technique the day before."

Naruto handed her the bouquet. "If it isn't too much trouble, could you by chance fix these? They are supposed to be a symbol of our alliance."

Gripping the handle Konan sent chakra through the papers. As if returning life to the flowers, the blooms repaired themselves and stood up right.

"Despite my girlfriend's jealousy I like these flowers, it's nice to have proof of an alliance other than some signed piece of paper." said Naruto as he took the flowers back.

* * *

**Two days later**

Naruto sat on the side of his desk as he looked over his village enjoying how the moon's light illuminated it. The streets were mostly empty spare a few drunken ninjas trying to enjoy what could be their last few days alive. Everyone else was most likely else where with family and friends doing the same. Naruto didn't know how the other Kages handled their villages concerning the upcoming war, but he wasn't going to lie to his.

He knew very well that many would die, so why keep that from them, why not let them enjoy the time they did have left. Although he thought this, the war had made him hesitant about one of his own choices.

A small gleam kept appearing and disappearing as Naruto open and closed the small velvet box in his hand. Despite Tsunade's joke towards him, he had already planned on asking Hinata to marry him. He had planned out everything, even went so far as to put seals on his desk so Hinata couldn't see into it with her **Byakugan**. A smile formed on his face as he played through the scenario in his head. Surprising her with the ring, asking the question, her smile, and sliding the ring on her finger.

His smile disappeared when he thought about the Kage meeting again.

'Madara just had to screw my plans up. Well that's ok. The scores still Naruto 3, Madara 1 asshole.'

Naruto closed the small box one last time before putting it back in his desk. He wouldn't turn Hinata into a widow. Wouldn't do the one thing he knew she would love to happen only to have it ripped from her in the chance that he died. If he survived… no if _**they**_survived, then he would ask her.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he never noticed the door open and closed, and he didn't notice the sound of the door being locked or the soft taps on the floor till it was only a foot away.

Naruto spun around the second he heard the foot steps, kunai in hand prepared to take out whatever assassin snuck into his office.

_Thumb_

His kunai fell to the ground when he saw the two orbs of lavender looking at him. He couldn't see the rest of her body hidden beyond the light from the window but he recognized those eyes from anywhere. As she stepped into the light Naruto took in her black longed sleeved shirt and pants along with the green Chunin vest over it. Her orange head band still rested around her neck. Even when she dressed professionally she looked beautiful to him.

Hinata made her way around the desk and wrapped her arms around him with him returning the embrace. They didn't let go of each other for several minutes, too comfortable and scared to let go.

"Hinata what are you doing here? Isn't Tsunade preparing Konoha's army, doesn't she need you there."

She heard the concern in his voice and tightened her hold on him.

"I asked her to let me come here."

His hand slid through her hair and he took in a deep breathe of her scent.

"I'm happy to see you but, we're in the middle of a war. Madara could have had you taken prisoner on your way here."

"I know." Hinata answered

Naruto allowed his head to rest on her head.

"That's why I had Satoru bring me back."

Hinata's way of getting here made Naruto chuckle. "So that's why Grandma Tsunade sent me that weird letter."

Naruto felt Hinata's head shift beneath him and lips rub against his before capturing them in a kiss. Just as the hug had lasted and still remained undone so did the kiss last. They broke just long enough for air before Hinata closed the gap again. The kiss grew and Naruto felt Hinata's tongue slide into his mouth when he went for another breathe of air.

The sensation wasn't new to him as they had kissed like this before, but it was rarely done between the two. After she had her fill of exploring his mouth her tongue began retreating back into her mouth, luring his tongue along the way. Naruto was too caught up in the kiss to notice the fingers that weaved their way though his hair until reaching the top of his scalp and practically scraping down the length of his head.

The muffled groan that left Naruto lips caused him to press Hinata even closer to him. It was at this point that he realized her other hand was busy undoing his clothes. Naruto began adding up all she was doing and the thought that came to mind slightly stunned him.

'She's purposely turning me on.'

Hinata's mouth left his mouth and trailed down to the side of his neck. She placed a kiss on his neck as if marking it and then bit lightly.

Naruto let out a grunt. "Hinata."

Said girl stiffened from hearing her name called and she seemed to loose all resolve as her face turned red and her timid nature seemed to come back after its long absence.

"Hinata…. What is going on?" asked Naruto as he tried to force down his lust induced high.

She didn't answer at first and even then it was so low that Naruto was lucky he was standing right next to the girl.

"I-I don't….. There's a war coming… I know the risks going into this w-war… and I'm sure you do as well."

Naruto nodded his head and let her continue.

"I don't…. I…. I-I…."

Apparently frustrated with her own stutter, Hinata reached up and pulled Naruto into a deep kiss as if to gain courage from the act.

She moaned into his mouth before letting go of his head. "I-I-I don't want any r-regrets left should the w-worst happen."

Naruto understood her fears easily. He wanted to tell her everything would be ok, he wanted to tell her that he would protect her no matter what, but he knew better. The old him would have said the things he wanted to without a second thought.

"Hinata I understand perfectly well. But we can't do this here. People will hear us."

Naruto's eyes snapped open when he heard Hinata. "W-We're the only ones in this building. I checked earlier when I was walking to your office."

"Wouldn't you prefer to do this in a bedroom? I'm not against this. It's just this is our first time." said Naruto trying to at least change the location.

Hinata shook her head. "Tayuya and Karin are back at home. And I know we both don't want to go to a hotel. Naruto there's no one here. No one to see us and no one to hear us." she whispered

When she still saw him thinking about things she moved her hip towards his. A shudder ran through her buddy when she felt their crotches touch. Hinata felt his eager erection and began to grind on him.

"Last time…. when we were in the shower… I had driven you so far, but then I got scared. I got you so h-hard and I-I saw the need in your eyes. Just like I see it now." Hinata whispered.

Naruto wouldn't deny it. He wanted her, needed her, and it took everything he had not to take her.

Hinata continued. "I felt horrible for what I put you through and if it wasn't for your….. unique idea, we would have both gone to bed feeling unfulfilled. Please let me make you feel good. Don't let there be any regrets for either of us."

Naruto's eye slowly crept to his desk where he knew the ring was. Hinata saw where his gaze traveled and had interpreted it was him looking for a place to lie down. She turned their bodies till her back was to the desk. Leaning back she slowly guided Naruto down with her.

Despite his real reason for looking at the desk he found himself staring down at Hinata's blushing face as he hovered above her. He couldn't help the gulp he took and he began looking around for a better spot. Naruto knew that it would be painful for Hinata, no reason to make it any less uncomfortable. His eyes settled on the only real furniture in the room other than the desk and chair.

* * *

**Lemon Warning ( Here's one for you Riku Uzumaki) **

Hinata wasn't even given a chance to let out her yelp when Naruto grabbed her ass and lifted her off of the desk. The second he began to lift her he captured her lips. She felt him moving them over towards the couch and felt herself dropped onto it. Hinata giggled into the kiss as hands began undoing clothing left and right.

The first article of clothing to hit the floor was the Chunin vest. Naruto never thought he would be offended by the rank proving gear, but when it hid all of Hinata's wonderful curves it had done just that. The next thing to hit the ground was Naruto's Kage robes followed closely by his blue kimono. Instead of tossing the orange head band onto the ground Naruto placed it lightly aside on top of the couch. Hinata's nervousness returned as she fiddled with the simple zipper of Naruto's leather armor. Another deep and long kiss from Naruto was all it took to steady her hands and let her pull it down in one quick movement.

Naruto had yet to remove anymore of Hinata's clothes as he could see her trying to use her boldness before it disappeared. The armor he wore was a pain to put on and just as big of a pain to get off. There were several buttons and zippers that tightened and loosened for equipping and removing. Of course he didn't sit idly by as Hinata removed the protective gear.

Naruto loved rubbing her lower region and massaging her breast through the clothes as it made it harder for her to focus on what she was doing. Several times as she was unzipping or unbuttoning an area she had to stop in order to take a shuddering breathe or suppress a moan as Naruto had touched her just right or rubbed a sensitive area.

Hinata couldn't help but let out a happy sigh as she undid the last button and completely removed the now irritating armor. Naruto was now only left in his boxers. Hinata's hands went to slip into the sides of his last piece of clothing but were stopped when Naruto's hand grabbed her wrist and placed her hands above her head.

His fingers went underneath her shirt while he hooked his thumbs onto the hem of it. He slowly removed the shirt not out of nervousness but out of anticipation. Of course he had seen her naked before but it didn't mean he couldn't find it enjoyable to do it over again. Hinata didn't fight the slow pace Naruto was setting and kept her hands above her head so he could remove her shirt.

Once the shirt fell to the floor he hooked his fingers onto her pants and dragged them down. With the pants now on the ground they were left with only there undergarments on. Instead of moving onto removing the last piece of clothing, Naruto shifted so he was on level with her ankle before making his way back up as he placed kisses on the inner side of her calves and thighs.

Hinata's breathe caught when she felt Naruto stop in front of her waist. Her legs had slid over his shoulders as he made his way back up and despite the fact that she wasn't looking at him she was sure that he was staring right at her cover lower lips. She wanted to look down, but she felt embarrassed. Last time they were in the shower and he was more focused on her upper body. Nothing happened for several seconds and anticipation was beginning to get to Hinata. She looked down towards him and found him looking right back at her from his spot in between her legs. Her breathing began to get faster and she tried to look away. But his stare kept her head in place and she watched as he lowered his mouth onto her panties. He moved the fabric aside before taking a long lick.

Hinata's head shot back, nearly hitting the arm rest. Naruto waited for Hinata to look at him again before he continued licking. She found it hard to look at him as he tasted her, but he made it apparent that he wanted her to watch as he did so or he would stop. Her feet began sliding against the limited amount of space against the couch and often times felt her leg slip off the edge.

It was when Naruto's tongue began exploring the inside of her that she couldn't keep quiet anymore let alone look at him. Hinata's head snapped back again and let out the held back moan. Naruto's tongue continued its exploration, looking for her sensitive spots and memorizing her walls. Hinata had wrapped her legs around Naruto's head not even meaning to as she tried to keep control of her body but she found herself unable with all the pleasure coursing through her.

Hinata was already reduced to short breathes and a few moans from the combination of being eaten out and Naruto's nose rubbing her clit. So when his tongue found one area that just seemed to double her pleasure he made sure to continuously lick that spot. Naruto found himself thanking the fact that they were on the top floor as Hinata's moans reached yelling volumes.

Hinata's legs unwrapped from his head and was instantly replaced by her hands as she pulled him closer in and let out one last moan. The warm liquid had surprised Naruto but Hinata's hands had prevented him from pulling back. He could feel her body tremble as she waited for the orgasm to subside.

Her hands finally let go of him, allowing him a chance to take a breathe of fresh air. Hinata looked back at Naruto as she caught her own breathe to see the dazed look that took over his cum covered face. She watched his every movement hoping to see what he would do next. The look on his face was familiar to her, it had been a look he wore when ever he was going on autopilot or was following his instincts.

Naruto reached up and pulled her panties off before crawling further up and removing the bindings. Hinata took this time to pull off his last piece of clothing. Before he threw the bindings away, Hinata took them from him and used them to wipe the juices on his face. She wasn't afraid of tasting herself, that would have been unavoidable as long as she wanted to kiss him. But she didn't want him wearing her cum the entire time.

Their lips formed another kiss between the two as Hinata positioned him over her entrance. Naruto looked at her once the kiss was over, giving her a questioning look. She answered his question by wrapping her legs around him like she did before with his head.

Seeing that Hinata wasn't having second thoughts, Naruto began to move his hip forward. His erection slipped past her soaked lips easily at first. The hesitation he did have didn't stop the descent of his pelvis as Hinata's legs continued pressing down. When her hymen broke her legs loosened around him and the whimper along with the tear that rolled down her face caused Naruto to pull back. Hinata felt him move away and instantly tighten her legs around him pulling him back in. Naruto hadn't expected the sudden act so when she pulled him back down he plunged all the way to the base of his shaft.

Hinata let out a cry of pain and closed her eyes as she tried to adjust to the new discomfort. She saw Naruto looking down at her worried as he tried to ignore the pleasure he felt from being inside her. He wanted to move his hips so bad, but the fear of hurting her even more kept him still.

Naruto felt Hinata's hands begin to slide up and down his body. She was trying to ignore the pain and focus on something else. The pain never truly disappeared but it did dull down. Looking at Naruto she loosened her legs to allow him to move. His hesitation was still present and clear on his face.

Her words were soft with a slight shudder. "Remember.. n-no reg-grets."

Naruto nodded and leaned down to give her another kiss. He move his hips slow at first despite his begging need to move faster. While Naruto was focusing on the motion of his hips Hinata bit back the whimpers that wanted to come out of her mouth. Soon the pleasure started to increase for both of them and Hinata's whimpers turned to small moans as her hips began moving along with his as he began moving faster. The two were completely caught up in the passion and pleasure they felt for each other.

Unfortunately it ended far sooner than either of them really wanted.

Naruto's hips moved even faster before stopping all together with his shaft buried to the brim and he let out a groan. She knew what happened as she moaned from his seed spilling into her, she didn't want it to end so soon but she reminded herself that this was to be expected from their first time.

Naruto laid on top of her not showing his blushing face, too embarrassed from how short lived their first time was. When he did push himself up to look at Hinata he was met with an equally blushing face and a smile. Even now she didn't feel disappointed in him. The very thought made him think of all the times she had helped him and how even before he left Konoha she was his silent supporter.

The thoughts soon made him mad at himself.

"I'm not going to let it end like this."

The sudden declaration confused Hinata until she felt him harden and the shifting of his hips. The moans and groans that came from them would soon echo through the night.

**End of lemon**

* * *

**Next morning**

The rising sun filled the Uzukage office with light to reveal several clothes scattered among the floor and on the couch were both Naruto and Hinata. Both were still asleep and connected at least till the sun light fell onto Naruto's eye. He woke up groggily and had to remind himself what had happened when his crotch felt strange.

Naruto didn't remember how many times they came for each other or how long after their first time they continued. All he really knew was that he wouldn't forget the sounds of Hinata screaming his name or the feeling from being connected with her.

He didn't need to see the couch to know that they had dirtied it beyond cleaning. Naruto didn't want to throw away the couch as he didn't consider it ruined. He would just have to flip the cushions over to hide the love stains. He originally bought the couch to give him a more comfortable spot to relax in his office when he chaired wasn't doing it. If guest believed that it was for their comfort that was their mistake and he definitely wasn't going to replace it just because of their insecurities should anyone ever find out what happened on it.

Ignoring the sun light Naruto shifted to a more comfortable position before going back to sleep. There wasn't that many days before the war started, so why should he waste them? It was as Hinata said "No regrets".

* * *

Author's Note: Well as you probably noticed I don't like the Raikage A. If you want to call what I did to him in this chapter bashing be my guest. To me he's always been a major hypocrite and an ass. I just felt like making a point with all that happened. As for Konan, I was always pissed when Kishimoto killed her off. To me her death was unnecessary and pointless. Another one of Kishimoto's ideas to create senseless drama that causes more people to dislike it than enjoy it. Well please review and I hope you enjoy this chapter. There's only two more chapters after this. I think.


	12. Chapter 12:Consequences

Whirlpools Rebirth

Don't own Naruto or Katsuo, However Satoru is my character

Chapter 12:Consequences

Naruto screamed as pain shot through him once more. He had been placed on a hospital bed with Sakura and Tsunade both holding theirs hands over his body as a light green glow flowed off them. The medical equipment that he had been hooked to was beeping endlessly as his heart rate refused to slow and the signs of shock were showing on his face.

"Shizune get in here, he's going into cardiac arrest!" said Tsunade.

Said women came running through the flap of the tent in little time after being called. Tears rolled down Sakura's face as she focused on the task at hand.

Despite Naruto's open eyes, none of this registered to him as all he could see and hear were the events that led up to this moment.

* * *

**Six hours ago**

The six nation's armies along with Mifune's samurais stood proud as they waited to be separated into divisions. Naruto stood among the other Kages along with Konan.

He had Konan inform the other Kages about Madara's newest development and the chances that he could be carrying the **Rinnegan. **She also informed them of any weaknesses he had. The other Kages were obviously disturbed by this thanks to Naruto's warning of what all the **Rinnegan** seemed capable of from experience fighting it.

Tsunade still didn't like being in charge, but she had to admit that it was better than letting the Raikage lead them. She saw Naruto walk up to her and gave him her attention.

"Grandma Tsunade I need to talk to one of your leaf nin." said Naruto.

She pinched the bridge of he nose. "Look now's not the time to see Hinata-"

"It's not Hinata I need to see."

* * *

Naruto made his way to the medical tents. The person he was looking for shouldn't be too hard to find despite the fact that every ninja was wearing their village's official ninja uniform.

A pink dot caught his eye in his peripheral vision and he quickly walked towards it before he lost sight of who he was looking for. As he made his way towards Sakura he wondered how she had been one of the only people to even have such a hair color.

Sakura was busy ensuring that everything would be ready for her should she be called off the field and back towards the medical tents. She felt someone tapping her shoulder.

"I'm sorry but I'm really busy right now, unless its orders from the Hokage I can't help."

Instead of leaving, the person behind tapped her shoulder again.

She turned around to tell the person off but found her voice mute when she saw Naruto standing behind her.

"We need to talk. Follow me." said Naruto, using a tone that told Sakura she had no choice.

The two walked off a little away from everyone else where no one would see them or hear them.

Naruto turned towards Sakura once he was sure they were given some privacy. She wouldn't look at him and he could already tell she wanted to be anywhere else than with him.

"You've been avoiding me for long enough. And I think we should clear this up before we really get into this war." said Naruto.

Sakura still didn't talk. Naruto shook his head.

"So tell me, has Tsunade told anyone what happened to Sasuke."

Sakura's expression went from neutral to dark. "So you do know."

The pink haired medic's only response was to shift her head up and down once.

Naruto's time to talk to her was running thin and his patience even thinner.

"Sakura….. I'm not going to say I'm sorry."

"Of course your not. You don't care!" said Sakura still not looking towards him.

Naruto held his voice down but his anger could clearly be heard. "And what is that suppose to mean."

Sakura finally looked at Naruto, tears threatening to spill and anger clearly etched on her face. "You left. You left and didn't even think about how any of us felt! You called Sasuke an ass for leaving and then you did it yourself. What about the promise you made to me? About bringing Sasuke back and making team seven whole again."

"You're right. I didn't think when I left. It's something I regret but I can't change what's been done. As far as Sasuke though I tried to bring him back." said Naruto.

Sakura didn't believe him. "Liar!"

Naruto took a second to compose himself. He knew this wasn't going to be easy and he didn't plan to succeed in making Sakura understand him. But he needed to get this off his chest before things became too hectic. Hinata had helped him a lot with dealing with Sasuke's death but there was always some small part of him that wasn't over it and he believed talking to Sakura would help.

"Sakura I did try to simply knock out Sasuke. But when I found him he wasn't the same person we knew."

Sakura shook her head. "We could have gotten him help. He was our friend! We could have helped him!"

Naruto saw her tears spill down her face. "Sakura. The person that stood before me that day wasn't our friend. He wasn't the guy you had a crush on and he wasn't my best friend. I didn't enjoy killing him, in fact I went into depression. If Hinata didn't help me I would still be."

"Good for you! You got someone to help you, what about Sasuke, who's going to be able to help him now!" Sakura replied.

He couldn't believe it. "Fine! It's obvious you don't want to listen so I'll leave you alone. But before I go let me ask you something."

Sakura turned towards him with a glare. Her glare turned to confusion when she saw him unzipping his armor. If she was her old self she would probably call him a pervert but as a medical nin she had seen her share of naked bodies.

If it wasn't for the situation she would admit that he had a well toned body. She looked around his body and still couldn't find what he wanted her to see. It was then that he put his hands together, allowing only his middle fingers and his index fingers to extend pointing up.

For a moment she didn't see anything, but soon after she saw an area on his left pectoral begin to waver till the flawless skin was replaced by a large scar with seals surrounding it.

"So what? That's your old scar from your first fight with Sasuke."

Naruto shook his head. "Don't act stupid, you're a medical nin. You know damn well that this is not a scar from four years ago."

Sakura didn't say anything and went back to looking away from him. This didn't stop Naruto from talking.

"So tell me Sakura. What kind of friend attempts to kill you three times? What kind of friend joins the very organization that intends to capture you?"

Naruto saw that Sakura didn't intend to answer him and he decided to quit. He reapplied the seal that hid his scar and zipped up his armor. Before he left though Sakura decided to ask him one last question.

"How did it end between you and Sasuke? What happened that made you believe that there was no other way."

Her voice was low and wavering, he could tell she was forcing herself not to cry any harder.

"I'm not going to do that to you. I might have to live with the image burned into my memory but you don't. Just remember the good times Sakura."

Naruto walked back towards the rest of the army.

* * *

Several hours into the war had Naruto tapping his fought impatiently as he had not been allowed to join the fighting as of yet. Gaara had been allowed to go due to his control over his demon, Mei had been sent to guard the Daimyos, and Mifune left to personally lead his samurai. This left Tsunade, Naruto, the Raikage, and Tsuchikage to sit at a round table as they listened to the reports of the current battles.

Naruto had tried several times to join the battle but Tsunade had pointed out that his lack of control over the nine-tails fox as an excuse to prevent him going. He knew that it was just an excuse and that Tsunade was just being too protective of him. She wanted to keep him experiencing the harshness of war, and a part of him appreciated that, but simply standing back as others fought his battle never set well with him.

Naruto looked around at his surroundings hoping to take his mind off of his situation. Konan stood a few feet away from him, staring at the table he and the others sat at. Karin was hooked up to one of the many devices that helped the sensors detect chakra signatures from far range. Shikamaru's father Shikaku was going through strategies.

Luckily things seemed to be even so far despite Kabuto's alliance with Madara and the powerful dead ninja he had brought back to life in order to help fight in the war. No doubt the snake was hiding elsewhere while he manipulated the undead ninja. When Naruto heard about the revival of Zabuza and Haku he had wanted to immediately join the fight. Tsunade of course stopped him.

Tsunade had presented the portion of the forbidden scroll that contained the details on the jutsu **Impure World Resurrection**. Naruto was glad to see that neither Kakuzu nor Sasuke would be brought back using the jutsu seeing as a DNA sample was necessary in order for the person to be brought back. But at the same time he didn't have many sealing jutsu and the ones he did have would do little to help with all the undead nins that helped bolster the enemy army. Luckily several of his nins took up the art and were helping deal with the undead.

Naruto gave the Raikage a brief glace. As expected the man had his brother hidden away with several nins protecting him and preventing the man from leaving the area he was hidden in. Then again he couldn't say much as Tsunade had pretty much done the same to him. Naruto shook his head as he couldn't believe the irony of his situation.

'I'm the leader of my own village and I'm still following orders from Konoha's leader….. Oh well.'

Another few minutes passed by and Naruto's tapping foot was beginning to become rather annoying.

"Would you please stop that annoying habit of yours!" yelled the Raikage.

Naruto gave the man another pissed look. "Sorry but I don't like simply sitting back while others die."

"Heh looks like you haven't matured enough, how you've managed to sustain your village I'll never know." said the Raikage.

"You wanna say that again!" yelled Naruto.

"ENOUGH!"

Tsunade once again had to stop an argument between the two Kages as they had made it a habit to piss the other off.

The blonde Hokage turned to Naruto. "Naruto you know why I can't send you out there. With your inability to control the power of the nine tails you would be seen as an easy target."

He didn't like to hear it, but he knew it was true. The nine-tails fox was hard to control. If he did use it's power chances were he would lose the ability to think and would most likely simply follow the foxes instincts. This would lead to him attacking friend and foe.

Tsunade sighed. "If there was some way you could take advantage of the field then I would be more than happy to let you go."

Naruto's foot stopped as he heard the last part of Tsunade's sentence.

"Really?" asked Naruto.

Tsunade nodded her head. 'Dammit does he have a way?'

Naruto smirked and Tsunade cursed her mouth. "Well I guess I should get onto the battlefield. I do possess a huge advantage against the white Zetsu."

The other Kages gave Naruto a curious look. Everyone new that the army out on the field was mostly composed of the strange plant like creatures. So if Naruto claimed to have an advantage against them then they wanted to know.

The Tsuchikage was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind. "What advantage do you supposedly have?

"They are sensitive to cold temperatures. When we were attacked by them in the Kage meeting I was able to break free the quickest. When I channeled my ice chakra into them they froze almost immediately. Something that wouldn't have happened to a normal person."

The others nodded their head as they remembered just how easily he got free. Tsunade shook her head. She didn't want Naruto to get involved but if he could really help turn the tides then she didn't have a choice.

As soon as Naruto was given the go ahead he left without a second word.

* * *

Hinata and Neji were fighting off hordes of the white Zetsu using their combine Hyuga styles. The white plants had been endless and could fake their own death with little such ease that none of the soldiers could tell if the creatures were truly dead unless completely obliterated.

Neji had just broken free from one of the supposedly dead soldiers and even then he was unsure if the thing had perished from his attack. Despite his cool composer he was worried about how much longer they would be able to last against the endless horde. His only comfort was the knowledge that he was not alone and that the closest ally he had was Hinata.

If he was being truthful to himself, Neji would have to admit that he was astonished by how much Hinata had improved. He had known that she was still training while away in Uzu, but he had not known about her water affinity and the training she had gotten from Naruto. While Hinata was not a master of using water jutsu she knew enough to save them a few times such as using the **Water Encampment **to create a wall around them or substituting with a **Water clone. **

Both Neji and Hinata tensed when a thick mist appeared within the area and began covering miles of the battle field. Neji noticed how visible his breathe was within the small space he could see with his natural vision, something that seemed to put a smile on Hinata's face when she noticed it herself.

Looking around Neji noticed that the white Zetsu seemed to be moving sluggishly, at least this was his thought was when he saw the chakra bodies outlines. One of the outlines began moving towards him and Hinata. When the figure had gotten within striking distance Neji had turned on the spot.

Luckily for Naruto, Hinata had stopped Neji's attack and prevented him from destroying Naruto's heart with his chakra empowered palm.

"Geez Neji I knew you were a little sore about me tricking your **Byakugan** nearly a year ago but I didn't think you were that sore about it." joked Naruto.

Neji shook his head while keeping his guard up. "Why are you here? I would think the Hokage would hold you back to prevent Madara from getting you."

"That was her plan but I made a good argument. The white Zetsu are the largest majority of Madara's army and I have their greatest weakness at my disposal." replied Naruto.

Realization dawned on both Hyugas and Hinata whispered her thoughts. "Ice element."

"Yeah. The Zetsu are basically human like plants. If it gets too cold, they die." Naruto looked around nervously as if unsure.

"Look I can keep this mist active for a very long time but I can't see in it, I'm no Zabuza. The mist will slow down the enemy forces, while that's happening I need you two to take them out seeing as you two can see everyone's chakra."

Hinata and Neji both nodded before reengaging the now easy targets. Naruto wanted to do more to help them, but as he said earlier he couldn't see in the mist. The only way he was able to make it to them was that he memorized where they were standing.

When Naruto was making his way to the battlefield he kept thinking how he should engage the enemy. The problem he kept running into was the want to take advantage of the white Zetsu's weakness while not damaging the ninjas on his side. Most of his powerful jutsu would greatly diminish the enemy forces numbers, but at the same time risked hurting or killing just as many allies. In the end he settled with supporting his allies with a jutsu that wouldn't harm them while weakening the enemy. With this thought in mind he headed to the division he knew would be able to make use of his jutsu.

* * *

With the tide of the war slowly turning in favor of the Ninja Alliance, Madara was forced to take action and make a gamble. Naruto had been able to remain from fighting as he had been focusing on maintaining his jutsu while trying to remain hidden. Unfortunately what he didn't know was that while he was hidden in the mist from the eyes of all, black Zetsu had sensed him the second he landed on the battlefield.

Naruto was forced from his spot by the arrival of two Kumo undead nin. Both men looked and dressed similar with the only difference between the two was the weapon they carried. They were dressed in the traditional Kumo uniform and the only way he could describe their hair was to call it a lion's mane brushed back, one of the men had gold hair while the other had silver hair. Their faces surprised Naruto as they had the same whisker marks as he used to. While one wielded a golden rope that had been wrapped around his arm several times and a giant fan, the other carried a large gourd and a double edged rectangular sword.

The two began fighting him and forcing him further and further away from the others. Naruto wasn't aware of the distance between him and his allies, and by the time he did it was too late. For a split second the world around him twisted only to be replaced by a new forest and the sight of a hooded man kneeling over several pebbles on the ground. Before Naruto could even process what happened a paper chakra seal had been put on him preventing him from channeling any chakra and sapping his strength.

Both of the Kumo nin he was fighting before were holding up his weak body, preventing him from hitting the ground. Naruto looked around to figure out where he was and who was in front of him. He became aware of the fact that the two men supporting him was gathering demonic chakra and felt the nine-tails foxes chakra resonate with it.

"What the." whispered Naruto.

The hooded man chuckled in a way that could remind Naruto of only one person. He took another look at the hooded man and noticed the unusually pale skin. The man finally raised his head to look at Naruto.

"K-Kabuto, what have you done to yourself."

Kabuto gave another chuckle. "Infused a small sample of Orochimaru's DNA." His face held several resemblances to Orochimaru. "I've been fighting for dominance for a while now, but it's been well worth the power I've gained."

Naruto continued to stare at Kabuto in disgust till he noticed the white snake that was hanging out from the side of his cloak. The snake had bitten down onto a passed out women he recognized as Anko Mitarashi. His attention didn't stay on Anko for too long before another person entered his field of vision.

"Well well well. Naruto it seems like you never stop ruining my plans."

The man might have changed his appearance, but Naruto recognized that voice. "Sorry, it's a nasty habit _Madara_." He spat the name with much venom.

Said man was now wearing a new mask that covered all of his head. The mask was a light shade of purple with circular lines making it resemble a **Rinnegan**. The third line of circles bore three tomoe like the **Sharingan** with the bottom two acting as eye holes for the mask. Madara's right eye held a **Sharingan **while his left held a **Rinnegan**.

A black high collar cloak still covered much of Madara's body except this time a red belt wrapped around his waist. The belt was used to support a large double circle war fan on his back as white as the moon**.**

Madara took a few steps closer to Naruto. "That's ok. I plan to use you for my next move."

Naruto didn't like the sound of that and began to struggle against the grip of the two supposedly supporting him. The two simply increased their grip on him.

"I just need to get rid of a few things before I can begin." Madara made to reach for the zipper of Naruto's armor but brought his hand back at the last second.

"On second thought, I really don't have much time and I do owe you for all you've done."

Madara placed another paper seal on Naruto's leg before performing a few hand seals. Naruto's eyes widened and he began struggling even more as he recognized the hand seals. Raising his mask just high enough to reveal his mouth, Madara let loose the low level fire jutsu. The scream that Naruto released could probably be heard for miles as the fire burned away his clothes and much of his skin. Fire was fire, low level or not.

He gritted his teeth to hide how much pain he was in as the upper section of his kimono had been burned away along with the leather armor. His face remained unharmed but his upper torso save for his arms was burnt. Apparently the nine-tailed fox's chakra wasn't sealed way with his as his skin began growing back. The two holding him did the same as him and seemed unaffected by the fire.

Madara wasn't done with Naruto as he pulled out a brush with some ink and began scribbling down various signs on Naruto's now unharmed body. When Madara was done he grabbed Naruto's head.

"You may have noticed just how hard it is to control the fox right now. Well there are various reasons for that. For starters the two holding you right now are Kinkaku and Ginkaku, both of whom have gained large amounts of the nine-tails chakra. I'll spare you the details and simply tell you that their chakra is disrupting your control. Another factor is the seals I've put on you. They do the same as the two holding you, but their much more essential for my next plan, they help weaken the seal."

Naruto had closed his eyes the second Madara said weaken. He remembered all his mother told him and couldn't help but be furious at himself for being captured. The same hand that held his head moved it's thumb onto one of his eye lids. Naruto tried to fight the thumb but it slowly moved his eye lid up and revealed his eye.

The second Naruto made eye contact with Madara he knew it was over. The old Uchiha looked past Naruto and straight to the Giant fox imprisoned within him.

A roar erupted from Naruto as the red chakra suddenly exploded from him and even forced the two holding him away. The red chakra gathered above him and began taking shape. Four limbs descended around them and nine tails sprouted from the back of the chakra mass. Finally the head began to mold with its pointed ears. Naruto collapsed onto the ground in the most excruciating pain he ever felt, the nine-tailed fox standing above him.

Within the eye of the great beast was a **Sharingan **instead of it's slit pupils.

Kabuto looked towards Naruto and then to Madara smiling. "He's still alive. The Uzumaki really are amazing."

"Yes just like his mother." said Madara with obvious distaste. "Kill him, then use your jutsu to control him" Madara added with much amusement.

The last Uchiha walked towards the battlefield once more with his weapon following close behind him.

Kabuto took a few steps towards the shaking form of Naruto. Just as he was a few steps from him a wall of paper descended and blocked his way. Soon several more pieces of paper began floating around the area before turning sharp and circling around the area Naruto was in. With the vortex of paper blades blocking his path, Kabuto could only watch as Konan descended down in her angle wing like form and take Naruto away.

* * *

**Present time**

Naruto flung his body forward from his bed, immediately regretting it when his body violently shook from the pain. Looking around he noticed that he was in one of the med tents along with several other injured soldiers. The sounds of battle weren't far off and he could hear the roar of his loose demon.

Two hands gently forced him to lye back in bed. The hands didn't belong to the person he wanted as he looked up to meet Katsuo's gaze. Naruto looked around at the several wounded hoping not to find Hinata amongst them. When his limited gaze had searched through all he could, he turned back towards Katsuo and asked the question he knew, but still needed to hear.

"What happened?"

"You were captured sir, and the nine-tails fox was released. Konan saved you along with the Hokage's help." Katsuo replied.

Naruto nodded his head already figuring as much. He made another attempt to get up, but the pain in his body along with Katsuo holding him back prevented him.

Katsuo was hesistent in speaking. "Sir… Lady Karin ordered me to insure that you stay in bed. You are in no condition to fight."

He couldn't argue with him. Naruto had barely been able to move his body with all the spasms and Katsuo barely had to use any strength to hold him down. Lying back down on his bed, Naruto thought of possible ways to recover faster or give him borrowed time in order to move even a little bit. The fox's healing powers were definitely missed now.

"Katsuo, is there anything you can do to speed up my recovery."

The young Usuegi didn't answer. Naruto could tell he had one, but that he was hesitant in disobeying Karin's order. He didn't like forcing someone to do something. But right now though he didn't have much of a choice.

"Your leader asked you a question Katsuo. Can you do anything to speed up my recovery?"

Katsuo stood straight. "There is plenty I can do, but depending on what I do will depend on how soon your recovery will take."

With that information in mind, Naruto began to think over just how soon he needed to be up.

"Can you make me able to fight within an hour?" he asked, hoping to be reasonable with his request.

Katsuo gave Naruto a serious look, at least more serious than usual. "I could, but….. You wouldn't be able to fight for longer than two hours…. or you'll wind up just as bad as you are now. Shorter if you strain your body too much."

Naruto didn't respond at first. He was hoping for more time. "It will have to do." was his simple response.

With his final words on the subject, Katsuo took this as his sign to begin. He grabbed a syringe and focused chakra into one of the veins of his arm. The vein glowed blue for several seconds before Katsuo injected the needle and withdrew the amount needed. Naruto could see that the blood was much clearer than it should have been and gave Katsuo a curious look.

The silent man simply continued with his work and studied his blood to ensure he had produced the right quality.

After grabbing his Uzukage's arm and pointing the syringe at the biggest vein he could find, Katsuo stopped to inform his leader of what he was doing.

"I've altered the state of this blood to act as a potent regenerative. It should act like the fox's recovery ability…. except it's not permanent. Your body will eventually fight off the effects and you will be left in just as much pain as you are now, maybe even more. Do you still want to go through with this?"

Naruto nodded immediately. He was pissed at himself for going out onto the battlefield knowing the dangers. Angry that the demon he once kept at bay was wreaking havoc. He knew it was selfish but he wanted to be the one to stop it and Madara.

Katsuo pierced Naruto's vein and injected the blood. The liquid felt hot in his arm. He could feel the effects taking hold much like the nine-tail's chakra, except much slower. Naruto relaxed himself as he began planning what he would do to deal with both Madara and his _tool_."

* * *

An hour later Naruto was fully clothed, or at least what clothes he still had after they had been burned of, and soaring through tree branches. Off in the distance Naruto could see the nine-tails fox fighting what appeared to be an ox with its lower body being composed of eight octopus tentacles. Gaara was busy defending the ox with partial creations of the one-tail.

With the pain no longer distracting him, Naruto could focus and see the change within his body. His chakra while still large had been reduced, while his chakra control felt amazing. No longer did the fox's chakra constantly screw with his control.

In truth Naruto felt amazing with the new control. Where focusing his chakra before had been tasking, he now could channel it with ease. In fact the chakra he was sending to his feet to move faster was almost instinctual. A mere thought was all it took.

As he got closer and closer, Naruto thought over his plan one last time. There would be no room for errors. His already limited time meant that any wasted movement would be the end of him. Failure wasn't an option, and while he felt that he could trust Tsunade to seal the nine-tails into another host he wanted to ensure it, or at the very least buy them more time to prepare.

Creating a shadow clone, Naruto didn't even bother giving it instructions as they split off to accomplish their separate goals.

* * *

Madara didn't bother hiding as he overlooked the war from the cliff he stood on. The nine-tails fox was pitted against two jinchuriki and he was honestly curious who would prevail, his tool, or the eight-tail and one-tail jinchuriki. Something he thought of as an honest match up.

Madara wasn't allowed to continue much longer as a giant shuriken passed through him and embedded itself into the ground.

'Another would be assassin has come to take my life.'

He turned his head to get a look at his attacker and widened his eyes when he saw Naruto standing there still wearing his burnt clothes.

"You are just full of surprises aren't you Naruto."

"This ends here Madara! I'll make sure neither you nor the nine-tails hurt anyone else today."

Madara simply laughed at Naruto. "And how do you plan to do that? You are not your father and the one trump card you did have is now my weapon. So tell me, how do you plan to stop me?"

"Easily." was Naruto's only response before darting straight for Madara.

Naruto went through the man and grabbed his shuriken. As soon as his weapon was dislodged, Naruto spun around in time forcing Madara away. He prepared to chase after the man, but an invisible force threw him back.

"I'm sure Konan has told you my weakness. But that was before I attained the **Rinnegan.** You may have had a sliver of a chance before, but with both the **Sharingan** and **Rinnegan** at my disposal, you stand no chance."

Naruto ignored Madara and continued on his relentless assault. This continued on for nearly thirty minutes. Naruto would charge at Madara and would either pass right through him or be pushed away, only to land on his feet.

When Madara apparently had enough he thrust his left hand forward. Naruto felt himself being pulled forward and despite his attempts to fight the force behind the pull, he eventually lost his footing. His neck was caught and squeezed by Madara.

"I've grown tired of this game! You were right earlier Uzumaki… this ends now!"

Madara looked Naruto directly in the eye preparing to put him into a genjutsu. But his body froze. He couldn't move a single part of his body and felt numb except for the feeling of a cold hand reaching into his stomach.

He looked down to see an astral hand exiting from Naruto's body and entering his.

"T-that's not possible….. a jinchuriki c-can't"

"Your right! A jinchuriki can't, but you solved that problem for me."

Madara stared at Naruto defiantly. "The second you pull my soul from my body your life ends, what happened to stopping the nine-tails fox."

"Your wrong about that. You weren't considered as dangerous as the beast so Naruto created a **shadow clone**. Right now the boss should be on his way to deal with the nine-tails as we speak." said Naruto's clone, gritting his teeth as he struggled to yank the man's soul from his body.

Madara let out a grunt as he himself struggled. "I won't let it end like this!"

"You can TRY!" yelled the clone as he gave one last yell before completely pulling Madara's soul from his body and sealing it within his own.

The clone's body fell back with the seal of the death god on his stomach, the last change on him before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

The second he received both the memories of his clone and the weight of Madara's soul, Naruto dashed out from his hiding place. As he ran towards the giant fox, a ghostly figure followed close behind him. It wore a white opened robe and looked like a demon with white shaggy hair and purple skin. The figure could be seen by no one else but Naruto.

The nine-tails fox paused its rampage for only a second as Madara's control wore off. However the small second provided had been everything Gaara and the eight-tails jinchuriki needed to pin it down. Naruto didn't waste the chance given to him as he forced the astral hand to jet towards the fox and grab a hold of the fox's soul.

To pull the fox's soul from its body was far easier than it was to pull Madara's as it took little effort for Naruto to do so. Naruto already knew that it was impossible to seal all of the nine tail's fox and never planned to. Instead he used one of the seals that he learned to seal the rest within him. He knew that it was pointless to seal the fox within himself in order to contain it, but then again he wasn't going to live much longer, and neither would the fox.

Everyone's eyes darted to Naruto's form as they watched the last of the fox's chakra be absorbed by him and his body collapse to the ground. No one saw as the apparition of the death god open its mouth and suck in the three souls before disappearing.

* * *

The nins from multiple villages gathered around Naruto as his life began slipping away. Hinata pushed her way through the crowd as she made her way to Naruto. She had already seen how Naruto looked with her activated **Byakugan. **He had already been pale before, but now he looked even worse. Pushing the last person in her way caused her to stumble onto Naruto. She cried as she saw the little amount of chakra in him.

It wasn't much longer afterwards that Tsunade landed in the little area provided around Naruto. She turned her attention to the crowd around them.

"Everyone back away!" yelled Tsunade.

The crowd did as they were told, not wanting to piss off the Hokage. Seeing that everyone was doing as told she turned around to examine Naruto.

'Oh god no.' were her thoughts when she saw the two seals on his body. One on his stomach and another on his chest.

Naruto was barely aware of Hinata crying on him as he could barely hear or see anything. He lifted his hand to cup her cheek. Feeling his fingers brush her face,Hinata gripped his arm like it was a life line. Naruto stared at her for several seconds; he wanted to say several things. That he was sorry, that he loved her, but he couldn't find his voice. He knew that there was a possibility that one of them would die in this war, but he never thought it would have been by choice, not until he thought about how to deal with both Madara and his demon.

He didn't have much more time, as it was he was struggling to simply take small breathes. Looking towards Tsunade he spoke to her.

"**_It _**won't be gone for good. When **_it _**does come back my nins will help, just ask them."

Tsunade nodded as she understood what **_it _**was. Naruto turned back to Hinata, tears coming out of his own eyes.

"I wish I had another way to solve everything, but Madara was too strong and I didn't have a lot of time. I'm sorry I couldn't find another way. I want more time with you, god I love you."

Hinata cried even harder against his hand. "I love you too."

Naruto thought about the day Hinata surprised him with her visit, the ring that was still in his desk, and how stupid he felt at the moment. He knew what martyring himself would entail, but he didn't want to watch it, didn't want to watch how sad he made her.

His body began losing feeling as he felt the last of his strength fade. Hinata felt it as well as his arm began going limp.

"Don't! Please don't." Hinata began repeating over and over again until her voice was nothing but incoherent mumbles as she cried.

She felt herself pulled off Naruto and turned around to hold onto whoever was pulling her away, wanting some comfort. Oddly enough it was Tayuya who had grabbed her. She tried to stop her own tears as she felt Hinata shaking.

Tsunade looked towards the crowd to see several of the Uzu nins hold their heads done in the acceptance of their leader's death. She leaned down and looked at Naruto before looking away.

'Damn you Madara. How many people have I lost because of people like you? My brother, Dan, Jiraiya, and now Naruto.'

Tsunade got up and took a few steps back, giving Naruto's body the space it deserved.

Too caught up in their grief or distracted by others in grief, no one noticed when Naruto's body fazed out for a split second.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter was rather ….. dull to write. I'll admit to it not really being as good as I wanted it to be with a close to no fights in it. As I was writing the chapter I didn't see the point in writing in fight scenes that weren't going to change from the manga or making new fights. Seeing as this was just one part of the ending I would like most people to not jump to conclusions about the next chapter and curse me out. You can state a prediction if you want just don't curse me out.


	13. Chapter 13:The Unexpected

Whirlpool's Rebirth

I don't own Naruto or Katsuo, Satoru is my OC

Author's Note: Wow…. I mean WOW. I was expecting people to want me dead for the last chapter. I'm glad that's not the case, rather surprised by how nice the reviews were.

Well seeing as this is the last chapter I wanted to give special thanks to some of my reviewers who I've been happy to have.

**Trife: **I'm not even sure if you're reading this fic anymore but I have to say thank you just in case. While I haven't used Katsuo or the Uesugi clan much, it still helped a lot. Thanks to them and you I was able to do more with this fanfic. Thanks again man.

**Rose Tiger, Leaf Ranger, and Naruhinasakufan1: **You three have been around since the beginning and have always either given me advice, helpful advice at that or have had nothing but good things to say. Thank you.

**Hektols****: **Well while me and you have seemingly disagreed from time to time or butt heads, I can't say that I'm not glad to have you as a reviewer. It's nice to have someone that makes you think.

**Illidan the Half-Demon: **Your reviews always made me feel appreciated, you always pointed out things that other people didn't. It's nice to hear good job and such, but it's better to hear why you did a good job.

**Xtrepe Nobody: **Though you haven't reviewed often , you, like Illidan made me feel appreciated. Truth be told I might have given up on this fic if I didn't have people like reviewing. This isn't like writing your own story. When you write your own story you have control over everything, your own characters, places, the whole world. Fanfiction has boundaries that some ignore. While writing this I had to watch how some characters act, think how others react, look up information that I was unsure of. To be called a genius while limited by these things definitely lifts a person's spirit. Thanks

**Uzushio: **While you were one of the last people to start reading my fic, you were one of the most helpful. When I read your review and watched how you turned a made a few of my sentences far better by simply making a few small changes, I couldn't believe it. Thanks, and I hope you can find a way to be a beta reader because trust me, I would definitely like to have a beta reader like you.

Well on to the story.

Chapter 13: The Unexpected

* * *

A void. A pitch black abyss with no light, sound, or warmth. If Naruto had to describe his surroundings, that would fit it perfectly. As he floated in nothingness he wondered where the nine-tails or Madara was.

Studying the description of the **Reaper Death Seal**, he saw an explanation that the souls sealed during the process would fight for all eternity in the Reaper's stomach. When he used the jutsu against Madara he had been prepared for that. He had been ready to die knowing he would have to fight the mad man forever.

But instead he floated with no control of his destination. No sound could be heard, even when he spoke. His body as far as he was concerned didn't even exist as he couldn't feel anything, no warmth, no chill, nothing.

Even his thoughts didn't seem to exist as they appeared as nothing more than whispers. Naruto began to even question if he himself existed anymore.

Finally something did appear in the realm of nothingness in the form of a red eye with three tomoe. Naruto mouthed the words 'Bring it' despite already knowing he wouldn't even hear himself. It was when only one word was uttered that not only shocked Naruto by the fact that he heard it, but also by the voice that spoke it.

"**Izanagi"**

Suddenly pain shot through Naruto. The pain was so intense that he didn't even realize he could hear his own scream.

* * *

Naruto woke up to find himself in another blackened area only this time he felt a surface beneath his feet and the senses his body normally had. This new realm held nothing else except for Naruto and a flickering light some distance away.

With nothing better to do, he began walking towards the light. The light began to grow bigger and soon let off a warm glow. Eventually Naruto could see that the light was from a camp fire and that someone was already sitting in front of it. The light from the fire had shadowed the newcomer, blocking any detail or hint to the identity of said person.

When standing beside the now confirmed man and seeing the medium length raven hair along with the black high collar shirt and slacks made Naruto think of Sasuke, but the aged face revealed to him that it was Itachi.

Naruto stood silently next to the man. Too many thoughts and questions were running through his mind that he couldn't even ask for the questions he wanted answered.

Itachi finally acknowledged his presence after several seconds of silence.

"I take it your curious?" asked Itachi in the same stoic voice he used when talking to Naruto before.

"How…..What…." Naruto gave up trying word his questions as he was more confused at the moment than curious, as Itachi put it.

An amused smile crossed Itachi's lips. "As I said earlier, **Izanagi**."

"Yeah and what has that got to do with this!" Naruto quickly responded.

Itachi's smile didn't even falter. "Saving your life."

Naruto couldn't find his voice at first. The possibility of living was definitely a nice thought, but believing it, especially after what he had done was hard.

"That's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible for **Izanagi**." Itachi stated.

After Konan told him what **Izanagi** was and how it worked, Naruto couldn't deny that what Itachi said was true. He would believe him if not for the requirements of the jutsu.

"Considering you don't have Senju blood, that still leaves us where it's impossible for the jutsu to be cast."

Itachi chuckled at Naruto's statement. "Your right I don't have Senju blood, but you do. Although a small amount due to being a cousin of the Senju, it's still there."

The statement alone caused Naruto to freeze. "What are you getting at? I don't have Uchiha blood, I don't have a **Sharingan** either." he paused, feeling something about the area familiar. "Besides, I didn't even cast the jutsu."

"Of course you didn't cast the jutsu, I did." said Itachi with finality, his voice seeming to echo.

Before Naruto could even respond Itachi held up his hand. "We've wasted enough time, just let me explain and everything will be clear."

Nodding his head, Naruto sat down next to the Uchiha. He had nothing better to do and he was getting no where with his questions.

"In truth I should start with our meeting back in Uzu. After seeing how protective you were of your village and Konoha, I knew you would do something like this to save them. Back then I gave you a small part of my power." Itachi paused for a second. "I had originally meant to use my power to save you from Sasuke if I myself failed in saving him. But then you proved to be more than able to defend yourself from him."

Naruto stayed silent giving the Uchiha his chance to continue on.

"I chose to not intervene in your fight with Sasuke, I can't say I'm happy with the outcome but what's done is done….. But when you decided to fight Madara I saw another chance to make use of the dormant power I hid in you. You're lucky that you saved Konan, not even I knew about the requirements for **Izanagi **to be performed. I knew the jutsu existed and the hand seals needed, but I didn't know about the need for the Senju blood."

"What did you do, and how did you do it? I'm not going to get my hopes up, I understand what you've told me but I still don't believe it." said Naruto.

Itach gave Naruto a little bit of time to think about all that had been said.

"When you began sealing the last of the nine-tails fox, I decided to act. I'll admit that everything that I prepared to do was nothing more than a theory, one I was unsure if it would actually work." Naruto shook his head hearing this. "I sent part of my power to your right eye. There I used it to manipulate the genes until you had a replicated **Sharingan. **A low level genjutsu was used to conceal the change in your eye, the last thing I needed was for some random nin to see it, then steal it. Once I did that, I had to draw upon your chakra to power **Izanagi. **Afterwards it was just simply putting everything to the test."

Whether Naruto believed Itachi or not, that didn't stop him from reaching up touching his closed right eye. He never noticed before that the right side of his vision was blackened out, but then again with how dark the area was he simply ignored it, until now.

"It worked, though a bastardized version. Everything after you sealed the nine-tails had been switched with the illusion I created with **Izanagi**. The reality of your death was replaced with the illusion of you living." said Itachi.

It was then that Naruto noticed that Itachi was fading away. "Wait! Why did you do it.? Why did you of all people save my life?"

"When you proved to be able to fight Sasuke, I had to plan for another way to use my power. What better way to use power….. than to save a life." said Itachi as he faded away, his voice becoming more and more a whisper.

Naruto's surroundings changed with Itachi's disappearance. Soon he was back in his sewer like mindscape, except this time there were noticeably less pipes covering the walls. Once again Naruto found himself walking to the center of his mind. His feet splashing water aside as he moved.

'**Izanagi** must have only affected me.' were his thoughts as he stared at the empty cage.

He never liked being in here. It only served to remind him of the destroyed childhood and his burden. And every time he came here, he never knew when he would leave.

'Just like now.'

* * *

Several of the ninjas that had gathered around Naruto's body began leaving to report to their own leaders. Tsunade watched as Hinata clung to Tayuya, both crying. She walked over to Hinata and put a caring hand on her shoulder. She knew how it felt to lose a lover on the battlefield, even worse when you could do nothing to save them.

'_Hokage I'm sorry but we're having a situation here_.'

Tsunade took her hand off Hinata as she heard the voice in her head.

'_Inoichi what is it?'_

A brief paused appeared between the two.

'_One of the Uzu nins that was here is panicking. She keeps saying that Naruto isn't dead.'_

Tsunade shook her head. '_Can you let me talk to her, poor girl is taking this harder than the others'_

A few seconds passed before a new voice could be heard. '_H-Hokage please listen… Naruto isn't dead, he's not I' _said Karin only to be interrupted.

'_Look I don't want to believe it either, but we all just watched him pass on.'_

Karin's response almost interrupted Tsunade._ 'But I can still feel his chakra.'_

'_Dear, I know this is hard but you'_

A groan behind her cut her thoughts off. She turned around to see Naruto, one of his eyes shut, as he tried lifting himself up. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Tsunade wasn't the only one who noticed Naruto moving and several others were just as shocked. He paused when he noticed everyone staring at him. Ironically the attention made him nervous.

"Uuuum hi…. everyone."

Poor Naruto wasn't given much time to at least get onto his knees before Hinata tackled him back onto the ground. Though it wasn't unwelcome as he returned her embrace, holding her tightly against him as if he was afraid that he would wake up to discover she wasn't there.

* * *

**Six Years later**

A Twenty four year old Naruto sat on his porch, leaning against one of the support beams as he looked across his yard during the sunny day. His hair was just as long as usual and he wore an eye patch over his right eye. While he still wore his blue kimono, he had gotten rid of the leather armor.

As he looked out over his yard he couldn't help reminiscing about what had happened in the war with Madara and everything afterwards.

It was funny that despite he himself killed Madara, he ended up sharing credit for ending the war with Anko. Kabuto never saw the kunai nearing his throat till it was too late to do anything, and a playing possum Anko pierced, lacerated and demolished several of his main organs. . Thinking back on it, Naruto had to comment on how stupid it sounded to poison a master of poisons, especially when said master was probably immune to many of them. Naruto didn't mind sharing the glory with someone. In truth he wanted as many people as possible to focus on Anko. It was bad enough that he was going to have to explain his miraculous revival to his friends and Tsunade.

After the war, Naruto found himself in quite a bit of trouble. Once the happiness that he was alive wore off, Hinata become both angry and distant with him. Apparently girlfriends didn't take attempted suicides well. Three weeks, this was how long Naruto spent in Konoha trying to apologize and promising to never do it again. It had taken several forms worshiping such as foot rubs among other deeds to be forgiven.

After he had calmed her down and gotten her forgiveness he presented the engagement ring to her, luckily erasing the whole incident in the process. It wasn't how he had planned to propose, but it had given him the reaction he had wanted.

The front door of his porch swung open to reveal a small six year old girl with long red hair, wearing a light blue medium kimono. Naruto smiled at his daughter as she practically bounced in place like the bundle of energy acted like. He saw the eagerness in her pale pupil less eyes and had a feeling what she wanted.

"Papa, wheres Mama."

"She'll be back soon. So tell me Hitomi, what do you want mama for, maybe papa can help?" asked Naruto

The little girl shook her head. "Mama makes it better."

That was all Naruto needed to hear to know that all his daughter wanted was a snack. He wasn't a bad cook, but one thing he did know was that Hinata was far better than him.

"Ah I see, yes it would be better if you waited for mama." said Naruto acting slightly depressed.

Hitomi for her part had grown wise to his antics of acting or faking, though she still humored them. She walked up to him and patted him on his arm.

"It's ok Papa, your good at many things." said Hitomi before she ran off to partake in one of her other favorite hobbies.

The question right now was would she go bother one of her Aunts, or would she play with one of her cousins.

Naruto smiled even more as he thought of his family slowly being built up. No one in Uzu besides Hinata knew that Karin and Tayuya weren't really his sisters. And to Naruto that was the point of bringing them into the Uzumaki family. As far as he was concerned, he didn't care if his blood line limit was passed on to his family or not. Yes he was excited of the idea of teaching his children, but it wasn't even guaranteed that his children would inherit it. So why focus on it.

What he did want was to repopulate his family, and he planned to do it one step at a time. He doubted that he would live long enough to truly see his family become the clan he wanted it too. But then again all he wanted to do was insure that it would get there.

It was at this time that Naruto saw the front gate opening. Hinata walked through wearing a white kimono with a lavender obi. Cradled in her arms was their infant son. Naruto owed a lot to Itachi. If it wasn't for him, Naruto would have done exactly what his father did to him. Apparently Hinata had been pregnant with Hitomi before the war. If Itachi didn't save him, then Naruto would have left his daughter without a father and his son wouldn't be born.

So when Naruto found out that he and Hinata would be having a son, he decided to name him after the man that saved him.

Hinata sat next to Naruto and leaned into him. Making sure not to disturb his child, Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata and pulled her closer to him.

"Our daughter wants you to make her a snack." said Naruto.

"I'll make one for her after I put Itachi to sleep." said Hinata somewhat awkwardly.

It hadn't been long since she had her son and calling him by a name that belonged to someone known for the genocide of his family was a little weird. Luckily Naruto seemed to be having just as much trouble doing so.

Said infant was currently reaching for one of his mothers strands of hair. Looking at his son, Naruto couldn't seem to understand how he had brown hair instead of red or blue. He wondered if the Hyuga gene was possessive or something, as his son also had somewhat grey pupil less eyes.

Finally succeeding in grasping his mother's hair, Itachi giggled. The child's amusement seemed contagious as Naruto and Hinata smiled as well.

Naruto knew that the peace he currently enjoyed would not last forever. But until it was broken, he was happy with the life that he had.

**PUT LINE HERE**

**Author's Note: **Well Whirlpool's rebirth is done with, guess I'll start on Way of the Samurai. It's been fun working on this, and thought this isn't as good as I wanted, I'll go over it later and fine tune it. I have to admit though, for a story that I don't believe is as good as it could be, there are currently over 200 reviews, 500 favorites, and nearly 90,000 hits. thanks for reading


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